October 17-18 Crappie USA held the 2014 Cabela’s Crappie USA Classic on Lake Cumberland at Sumerset, Kentucky, where 250 of the top anglers in the nation competed for $107,000 in cash and prizes. This year’s Classic proved that Cumberland big fish lay deep in the lake.
Semi-Pro Division
Taking top honors for the tournament was the team of David Jones of Knifley, Kentucky, and Richard Williams of Paris, Tennessee with a two-day total of 19.56 pounds. Knifley and Williams also captured Big Fish of the event with a 2.41-pound slab that they caught out of 40 fish the team caught during the event.
Knifley and Williams were fishing close to the dam on the main lake casting to rocky bluffs in 100-foot deep water with fish suspended on overhanging wood at 40 feet deep. The team used baby bass colored Southern Pro jigs. The team thanked God most of all, and to all the sponsors on the tournament trail for making the whole event such a success. They earned a Ranger Z-118C boat with 150hp Mercury, and fully rigged. Bonus money from Minn Kota, Driftmaster and Southern Pro totaled $1,100. They also won $900 for big fish.
“Until you’ve been in this position of winning a classic, something all crappie tournament fishermen dream of,” says Williams, “there is no way to describe the feeling. We had a lead going into day two and we needed every bit of it. We didn’t catch the size of fish on the second day. The difference of 6/100 of a pound meant the difference in earning the dream of a lifetime and finishing second. My partner had been checking the fish before the tournament and told me we would be on some good fish. Thank goodness there were just enough to give us the weight. It’s a day we’ll never forget.”
Second place went to the Hickory, North Carolina team of Randy Pope and Steven Deitz with a total of 19.50-pounds. They started casting points early but move to the docks after three hours. They used yellow Little Fishy Crème Lures turning to pearl color later in the day. Fish were in 7 to 25 feet of water. They won $5,000, a Minn Kota charger and $400 for second big fish at 2.27-pounds.
Third place was the Alabama team of Adam Mobbs and Carlton Teague with 17.34 pounds. They fished Wolf Creak in weed cover in 18-40 foot water. They spider rigged Stinger Shad tipped with minnows.
19.56 David Jones-Richard Williams
19.50 Randy Pope-Steven Deitz
17.34 Adam Mobbs-Carlton Teague
16.02 John Hendrix-Kevin Randall
14.16 Michael Walters-Steve Ferguson
13.05 Phillip Russell-Gary Anger
13.01 Dale Thompson-Mark Fields
11.78 Dan Hudgens-Bruce Christian
11.66 George Rodgers-Tim Marple
10.52 Joey Sanders-Steve Ralls
Amateur Division Results
First place went to Lynn and Nathan Cochran of Springfield Kentucky with a weight of 16.81 pounds. The team fished the lower end of the lake in 15-45 feet of water. The fish were holding tight on wood cover. They casted with 2-inch Southern Pro Glow tubes and they used minnows. They earned a fully-rigged Ranger RT-188-C.
16.81 Lynn & Nathan Cochran
16.43 G T Dalton-Robert Massey
15.74 David & Jerry Rodgers
14.72 Ronald Barker-Donald Doby
14.35 Kris & Terry Mann
Other Awards
-Sportsman of the Year- Mark Morris.
-Junior Angler of the Year- Percy Gray.
-High Point Team- Roy Cape and Robert Harris. 2nd place was Larry Clark.
-National Points Champs- Steve Ferguson and Michael Walters.
-Top adult-youth team amateur division- Reed McCord.
-Top adult-youth team semi-pro- Ben Christian.
-Male-female team semi-pro- Joe & Janet Carter.
Crappie USA Free Kids Fishing Rodeo with scholarship contributions near $322,000 since 1997. President Darrell VanVactor says, “We are very proud to be a part of the education process for the youngsters who participate in our tournaments as adult-youth teams and those who fish in the Crappie USA ‘Kids Fishing Rodeos’.”