Pretty Easter weekend weather and numerous recreational boaters greeted crappie anglers on Old Hickory Lake at Gallitin, TN. The occasion was the Crappie USA tournament trail on Saturday, April 15, 2017. More than 90 Tax Day anglers from several different states were competing for $7,500.00 in cash and prizes, as well as a chance to advance to the prestigious Cabala’s Crappie USA Classic. This year’s classic will be held October 26 – 28, 2017 on Kentucky & Barkley Lakes at Paris, Tennessee.
The shorts and t-shirts weather was welcomed by the anglers. Local recreational boaters also took advantage of the beautiful weather to add an obstacle to the fishermen. The sunny skies, temperatures in the 80’s and SSW winds at 5 – 10 mph were just too inviting and plenty of boating traffic made fishing conditions tough at time.
Pro Division Results
Harold Maddux and Brian Oldham, both of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee took first place in the Pro Division. They weighed a total of 12.10 pounds to earn the first place cash of $1,500.00. The TN team also won the Big Fish Bonus of $600.00.
The first place team targeted the middle section of Old Hickory Lake in shallow water using Slab Magnet lures in red/chartreuse and yellow/chartreuse colors. They fished them under floats to catch about 45 fish for the day. Several of their females that had not spawned. Brian stated that they caught all of their fish early in the day on Saturday.
Larry Clark of Louisville, KY took second place with a total weight of 10.43 pounds and earned $800.00. Larry targeted his fish in 13 – 19 feet of water. He was trolling crankbaits in black and smoky colors to land around 20 fish for the event.
Taking third place were Shawn Gore and Joey Peck, both of Almo, Kentucky weighing in at 9.67 pounds and earning $500.00, plus an additional $250.00 Ranger Cup Bonus and $260.00 for 2nd place Big Fish. The team fished from their Ranger 520 in Drake Creek. They were spider rigging blue/chartreuse and pink/chartreuse Nothead jigs in 2 – 5 feet of water. The KY anglers landed about 16 crappie fish for the day.
Amateur Division Results
Dewayne and Robert McCord, both of Wingo, Kentucky took first place in the Amateur Division with a total weight of 9.23 pounds to earned $1,100.00. They also claimed a $250.00 Ranger Cup Bonus. The team fished in their Ranger 620 in Spencer Creek pulling crankbaits in black/chartreuse color. They caught more than 50 fish. The team gave credit to Jenko baits for making the perfect crankbait for the crappie market.
Taking second place was Johnny and Kim Clary of Greenbriar, Tennessee. They weighed in 9.15 pounds and earned $600.00. The team fished down river at the start of the event, catching 2 big fish in deep water, however they were weak. They lost some fish on the way to the weigh-in early and they had to start over again. Team Clary was using Slab Magnet jigs made by Crappie Magnet Lures. They chose yellow/chartreuse and pale moon colors to land more than 40 fish for the weekend.
William and Karen Snyder of Bell Buckle, Tennessee took third place of the event weighing in 8.55 pounds and earning $400.00. The team fished out of their Ranger 195 towards the dam in deep water using Slab Magnet jigs in black/chartreuse color. They one pole jigged to catch 25 fish on the day.
In fourth place went to Rodney Talley of Riverside, Alabama and John Baker of Pell City, Alabama. The team weighed a total of 8.20 pounds and earned $400.00.
Jay and Mary Johnson of Mascoutah, Illinois took fifth place with 8.16 pounds. They earned $300.00. Jay fished by himself today, spider rigging in 12 – 16 feet of water using shiner minnows. He landed 12 fish for the day.
Rudy and Brian Bostelman, from Mt. Juliet and Hendersonville, TN, respectively, took sixth place with a total weight of 8.08 pounds and earned $200.00.
The Talon Bonus of $250.00 went to Roger Claywel, New Castle IN and Dean Rogers from Gaton, Ohio.
CUSA organizers sent out a special thank you to Barry Young and staff at the Sumner County CVB for hosting the event, and to Flipper and his staff at Flippers Marina for taking care of the anglers at the weigh-in site.
For more information please call Crappie USA at 502-384-5924. Check out their website at: www.crappieusa.com. You can aloso follow them on their Facebook page.
