It is not even surprising anymore. Unfavorable weather challenged crappie anglers in Crappie USA’s tournament on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes at Paris, Tennessee. Friday’s temperature was in the 60’s with SSE winds at 15 – 20mph. The water level was one foot below pool and murky. Saturday brought storms, high winds and rain all day long.
The March 24 and 25, 2017 event attracted 180 anglers from 13 states to the popular Tennessee lakes. The bounty for the prestigious crappie trail event was $19,450.00 in cash and prizes and the chance to advance to the Crappie USA Classic. This year’s classic will be held October 26 – 28, 2017, back again on Kentucky & Barkley Lakes at Paris, Tennessee.
Pro Division Results
Richard and George Hughes, both of Big Sandy, Tennessee, claimed the top spot on their local waters. Team Hughes fished south of the highway 79 bridge in 4 – 9 feet of water using blue/chartreuse jigs. They caught more than 40 fish in the weekend event. Their bag included the heaviest Big Fish weighed in several years in a Kentucky Lake event, according to Darrell Van Vactor, General Manager, The Big Fish weighed 3.22 pounds and earned the team an additional $1,200.00 Big Fish Bonus. 
The Hughes’ team two-day weight of 26.36 pounds earned them $3,800.00 for the top spot, $300.00 for the Driftmaster Bonus and the already mentioned $1,200.00 Big Fish Bonus. 
Glen Woodard of Waverly, Tennessee took second place with a total weight of 22.27 pounds and earned $2,000.00. Woodard fished south of Sulphur Creek around White Oak and found the 59 degree water holding large males in 7 feet of water. Glen used jigs in blue/white/chartreuse and white heads to land well over 100 fish for the weekend. 
Third place went to B’n’M prostaffers Ronnie Capps and Steve Coleman, both of Tiptonville, Tennessee. They weighed in 21.63 pounds and earned $1,000.00 and an additional $250.00 Ranger Cup Bonus. The team fished the north end of Kentucky Lake on Friday. Unhappy with their Friday results they moved to the south end on Saturday where they found good fish in 8 feet of water. They used single chartreuse/lime jigs to catch over 50 fish on the final day.
Henry and Jo Haley, both of Carmi, Illinois, finished in fourth place. Their total weight of 20.86 pounds earned them $800.00. The Haley’s spider rigged on north Barkley Lake, targeting man-made cover and moving from bed to bed quickly to catch the most aggressive fish from each bed. Most fish were in 6 – 13 feet of water, hitting the green/chartreuse and sparkle color jigs. Their stringer included several fish that were over 10 inches. 
Fifth place went to Shane Moore of Milan, Tennessee and John Eubanks of Trenton, Tennessee weighing in at 19.69 pounds and taking home a check for $600.00. The team fished south of Paris Landing area in 4 – 6 feet of water, They slow trolled with chartreuse jigs to land over 80 fish. They reported that 29 of their fish “were really good keepers.”
Sixth place and $600.00 went to Roy Logan of Troy, Tennessee and Wade Hendren of Ripley, Tennessee with a total weight of 19.33 pounds.
Seventh place and $400.00, plus an additional $250.00 Talon Bonus went to Matt Dunivant of Newbern, Tennessee and Kevin Petty of Dyersburg, Tennessee weighing in at 17.77 pounds.
Eighth place and $400.00 went to Kevin Murphy of Portageville, Missouri weighing in at 17.64 pounds.
Amateur Division Results
Brett and Robert Luther, both of Dickerson, Tennessee took first place in the Amateur Division with a total weight of 21.10 pounds and earned $2,000.00. The team fished the south end of Kentucky Lake in 2 – 5 feet of water using live bait to catch over 20 fish for the weekend. Most of their fish were males that were preparing nesting sites for the upcoming spawn. 
In second place were T.J. Todd and Brian Hatch, both of Dyersburg, Tennessee with a total weight of 18.64 pounds and earning $1,000.00, plus an additional $125.00 Ranger Cup Bonus. The team fished just about 6 miles south of Paris trolling blue and chartreuse jigs in 6 feet of water to land a total of 50 fish for the 2-day tournament. 
Taking third place was Jimmy Sanford of Greenbrier, Tennessee and Lance Harrington of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee weighing in 18.39 pounds and earning $700.00. The team fished south of the Blood River area targeting pre-spawn fish in 2 feet of water around heavy cover using live bait to catch 40 fish. 
Arnold and Kenny Patterson, both of Knifely, Kentucky took fourth place of the tournament with a total weight of 17.16 pounds and earned $500.00. Team Patterson spider rigged around heavy wood cover in 4 – 6 feet of water catching mostly male fish and had over 100 fish for the weekend.
Fifth place went to Cody England of White Bluff, Tennessee and Brent Williams of Fairview, Tennessee weighing in at 17.12 pounds and earning $400.00. The team fished the south end of Kentucky Lake trolling shiner minnows in 15 – 20 feet of water to land 40 – 50 fish for the tournament.
Sixth place and $400.00 went to Roy (Doc) Holiday of Paducah, Kentucky weighing in at 16.99 pounds.
Seventh place and $300.00 went to Joey Clark of Wingo, Kentucky and Jeremy Jones of Mayfield, Kentucky with a total weight of 16.84 pounds.
Eighth place and $300.00 went to Dean McCoy and Marcus Rudd, both of Benton, Kentucky weighing in at 16.83 pounds.
Ninth place and $200.00 went to Jon Graves of Parson, Tennessee and Jamey Bates of Camden, Tennessee with a total weight of 15.42 pounds.
Tenth place and $200.00 went to Jeff Outland of Gilbertsville, Kentucky and Michael McGregor of Benton, Kentucky weighing in at 15.14 pounds.
Brently Smith and Colten McCallister, both of Rutherford, Tennessee had 2nd place Big Fish of the tournament, weighing 2.90 pounds and earning $500.00.
Van Vactor sent a special thank you to David Hamilton and his staff with the Henry County Chamber of Commerce at the Tennessee River Alliance for hosting the event and all of their hard work in making it a huge success. He also thanked Rusty and Pam at Buchanan Resort for taking care of the lodging needs.
For more information call Crappie USA at 502-384-5924. Be sure to check out the website at: www.crappieusa.com and like Crappie USA Tournament Trail Facebook Page. Both sites contain new and exciting information on CUSA events along with special information for crappie anglers everywhere.
