Brown, Thomas bag 27.81 pounds for $9,000
Chris Brown and Jason Thomas of Lexington won the March 23 Carolina Bass Challenge on Jordan Lake with a 5-fish limit that weighed an impressive 27.81 pounds and was worth $9,000.
Brown said the victory for him and Thomas was “the biggest of their fishing careers.”
The winning team had one of only five limits taken by the 120-team field. They had seven keeper bites and culled two bass.
Their biggest fish weighed 7.25 pounds and was caught during the morning hours, thanks to a competitor’s boat that beat them to their prime fishing hole. Brown and Thomas had to select another location and immediately hung two big fish.
“We caught our fish in about five feet of water at staging corners,” said Brown. “We caught one keeper with a Shad Rap, four with a shallow-running Zoom crankbait and two with a Dave’s Tournament Tackle jig. Four fish came from down the lake; three from up the lake.”
Brown and Thomas decided against fishing the bridges and against running the bank.
“We knew the bridges would be beat to death, and we thought we could catch only 2-pounders running the bank,” said Brown.
Other top teams were: Chad Poteat of Mt. Airy and Mike Miller of Trinity, second with 18.61 for $4,000; Mark Beck and Bill Goodrich, third with 16.56 for $2,350; George Lambeth of Thomasville and Ron Wolfarth of Oakboro, fourth with 15.95 for $1,550; Andy Nix and Justin Goodyear of Thomasville, fifth with 14.54 for a $1,050 check; Cliff Kirby of Catawba and Rick Dunstan of Pinehurst, sixth with 14.05, winning $825; and Casey Johnson of Raleigh and Cody Shuffler of Hickory, seventh with 13.73, winning $600.
Rounding out the top 1o were: Wayne Skipworth of Greensboro and Don Sprinkle, eighth with 13.24 for $550; Scott Threadgill of Troy and Dwayne Saunders of Star, ninth with 12.94 for $500; and David Williams and Gerald Williams, both of Maiden, 10th with 12.65 for $460.
Ramon Stockham of Greensboro and Brian Morgan landed a 9.25-pound trophy bass worth $1,000.
OTHER BASS TOURNAMENTS
Yadkin Team Tournaments at High RockHigh Rock Lake, March 23
1. Shane Floyd-Tony Garitta (Lexington), 18.22, $300; 2. Bobby Lovings (Salisbury)-Dwight Morgan (Gold Hill), 12.83, $103; 3. Thomas Ludwick-Tom File (Salisbury), 11.93, $85. Big fish: Ludwick-File, 6.37 pounds, $52.
Fishers of Men Central DivisionLake Mayo, March 16
1. Robbie-Ross Kennon (Ruffin), 23.27, $1,800; 2. Steve Upchurch (Raleigh)-Jeff Hodges, 18.10, $720; 3. Phillip Eakes (Bahama)-Dan Glosson (Rougemont), 17.10, and big fish, 6.46 pounds, $1,032.50; 4. Rodney Pope-Willie Hair, 15.28, $400; 5. Tim Emory (Creedmoor)-Tim Parker (Pittsboro), 14.55, $300; 6. Greg Campbell-Don Underhill, 13.74, $270; 7. David-Larry Jacobs, 13.72, $377.50; 8. David Farman (Semora)-William Killian, 13.67, $305.50; 9. Randy Goss (Stem)-Todd Moser (Mebane), 13.30, $170; 10. Joel Lloyd-Hunter Campbell, 12.50, $150.
Fishers of Men Legacy Series, Piedmont Division Lake Wylie, March 16
1. Dean Collins (Linwood)-Ethan Garrett, 7.41, $320; 2. John Sinincak (Fort Mills, S.C.)-Amber Sinincak, 5.57, $150; 3. Trent McLaughlin-Garrett Peagler, 4.83, $108. 4. Kenneth Shumate (Elkin)-Dan Snow, 4.07, $72; Errol-Isabella Duckett, 3.80, $100; 6. David Spivey (Ohio)-Brandon Kuykendall, 3.51, $60; 7. Wes Lewis-Savannah Tremblay, 2.25, $40.
Adam & Eve Trail, Lake Tillery, March 23
1. Ron-Carmen Nelson, 16-10, $150; 2. Mark-Audrey Bayse (Thomasville), 13-10, $90; 3.Ricky-Sherry Clark, 13-04, $60. Big fish: The Nelsons, 5-7, $60.
American Fishing Tour, Division 16Jordan Lake, March 2
1. James Poirrier, 12.28, plus 4.98-pound big fish, $447; 2. Dale Campo, 6.83, $190.
American Fishing Tour, Division 17Pamlico River, March 9
1. Todd Leggett, 10.13, and big fish, 2.63 pounds, $435; 2. Randy Vanhorn, 5.38, $180; 3. Lawrence Thomas, 4.28, $71.
297 points; 5. Joe-Joey Boswell, 16.30, 296 points.
Carolina Anglers Team Trail Wylie Spring Division, March 23
1. Bobby Rice-Matt Hayes, 19.77, and big fish, 7.32 pounds, $1,159; 2. Billy Wright-Grant McPeters (Marion), 18.77, $431; 3. Tom Russell-Doug Gilmer (Fort Mills, S.C.), 17.42, $225; 4. Rob Sledzewski (Gastonia)-Ricky Elliott, 16.66, $125; 5. Thomas Richmond-Reggie Polluck, 16.02, $100.
Boats Unlimited Team Tournament Trail,Jordan Lake, March 23
1. Ean Davis-Matt Czerepak (Southern Pines), 20.66, $1,140; 2. Scott Smith (Apex)-Tony Woodard (Four Oaks), 18.38, $638; 3. Bobby Matthews-David Overcash (Durham), 14.67, $547; 4. Randy Fisher (Hillsborough)-Donnie Lowe (Mebane), 14.08, $501; 5. Geno McCree-Phillip Johnson (Durham), 14.01, $412; 6. William Small (Wake Forest)-Lee Williams (Durham), 13.73, $319; 7. Mike Stephenson (Bahama)-Chad Jones (Durham), 13.64, $274; 8. Erik Ross-Les Walters (Fayetteville), 13.63, $228; 9. James Williams (Raeford)-Bud Fowler (Aberdeen), 13.11, $182; 10. Wayne Shaw (Cameron)-Raeford Soles (Aberdeen), 12.74, $182; 11. Arthur Pugh (Spring Lake)-Don Bovin (Fayetteville), 12.03, $137. Big fish: Mike Hodge-Tim Wall (Clayton), 7.77 pounds, $770.
CATFISH TOURNAMENTS
Yadkin Master Catters, Badin Lake, March 22
1. Ted Leonard, 86.6, plus 46.6-pound big fish; 2. Team Lunker, 40.6; 3. Team Playin Possum, 37.2; 4. Chris Hammell, 34.2. Youth Division: Ethan Kimball, 24.00, $25 bass Pro shops gift card.
SCHEDULES
April 13. Jessica Morton Memorial Bass Tournament, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Lake Tillery out of Swift Island Landing. Entry fee is $50 plus $10 big fish. Half of proceeds go to benefit family of Jessica Morton. Contact: 980-721-9874.
June 1. Take a Kid Fishing Tournament, 6:30 -1 p.m. Lake Tillery out of Cook’s Marina. Two age Divisions: one to 11 and 12 to 16. Child must be accompanied by adult. First place each division, $500 guaranteed.Proceeds benefit Montgomery Community College Scholarship Foundation. Entries accepted 5:30 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. at tournament site. Contact: 910-576-2811.
