Crappie USA Tournament Results for the Pickwick and Wilson 2-Day $10,000 Super Event
OutdoorHub 04.29.12
This past Friday and Saturday April 27th & 28th Crappie USA held a 2-day $10,000.00 Super Event on one of the most popular tournament sites in the nation the Pickwick/Wilson Lakes at Sheffield, Alabama. Over 100 anglers from 13 states were competing for not only the $10,000.00 in cash and prizes, but the opportunity to qualify for the prestigious Cabela’s Crappie USA Classic. This year’s classic will be held October 24th-27th, 2012 on the Barkley/Kentucky Lakes at Cadiz, Kentucky.
Sheffield has always been one of the top area’s in the nation for Crappie USA anglers and the staff with the warm welcome of the entire community. Its southern hospitality at its finest with excellent lodging that caters to boaters and some of the top eateries you’ll find anywhere.
Semi-Pro Division Results
Taking first place was the Memphis, Tennessee team of Warren Cotton and Kirk Lewis with a 2-day total weight of 23.99 pounds and earning $3,000.00 for first place. Warren and Kirk were slow trolling orange/chartreuse Big Bite Baits in 11 feet of water over manmade structure up Bear Creek to catch around 35 fish each day.
Second place went to Brian Arnett of Kevil, Kentucky and Marc Shoulta of Symsonia, Kentucky with a 2-day weight of 22.17 pounds and earning $1,500.00 for second place. Brian and Marc also earned an additional $250.00 for being the top placing team by weight using Stubby Steve’s Baits and also an additional $250.00 for the Semi-Pro Ranger Cup Award. Brian and Marc were spider rigging orange/chartreuse tube jigs tipped with Stubby Steve’s Bait in 11 feet of water up Bear Creek. The team caught over 80 fish in the 2-day event.
In third place was Steve Coleman of Tiptonville, Tennessee with a weight of 20.68 pounds and earning $1,000.00. Steve was fishing for suspended fish in the main lake channel in 30 feet of water 1 mile south of the Pickwick Dam then moved to Bear Creek in 12 feet of water using large minnows on B’n’M Poles to catch 50 fish in the 2-day event.
Steve Ferguson of Puryear, Tennessee and Joey Briggs of Dexter, Kentucky took fourth place with a weight of 20.19 pounds and earned $400.00 for fourth place. Steve and Joey were fishing halfway back Bear Creek over natural cover in 10-11 feet of water using red/chartreuse Southern Pro jigs with Teezer heads on B’n’M Poles.
Fifth place went to Jo and Henry Haley of Carmi, Illinois weighing in 19.17 pounds to earn the Driftmaster Anchor System. Jo and Henry were slow trolling blue/chartreuse and yellow/green Southern Pro jigs tipped with minnows and Stubby Steve baits over manmade cover in Bear Creek to catch over 70 fish in the 2-days of the event.
Amateur Division Results
First place in the amateur division was the Murray, Kentucky team of Doyle and Sonny Milby with a 2-day total weight of 18.51 pounds and earned $1,500 for first place in the Amateur Division. Doyle and Sonny also received $200.00 for the Driftmaster Rod Holder Bonus. Doyle and Sonny were slow trolling lime/chartreuse Southern Pro tube jigs tipped with Stubby Steve’s Bait in 9 feet of water over natural wood cover up Bear Creek. The team caught 75 fish for the 2-days of the event.
Second place went to Keith Griffin of Trenton, Tennessee and Brent Smith of Rutherford, Tennessee with a weight of 18.41 pounds and earning $1,000.00. Keith and Brent also received an additional $95.00 for second biggest fish of the event with a 2.03 pound crappie. Keith and Brent were spider rigging black/chartreuse Southern Pro Lures over brushpiles in 15-20 feet of water in Bear Creek to catch 35 fish both days of the event.
Taking third place was Roger Milby of Auburn, Alabama with a weight of 16.07 pounds and earning $600.00. Roger was pushing jigs in 9-12 feet of water up Bear Creek using black/chartreuse Southern Pro jigs to catch 120 keepers in 2-days.
In fourth was the Georgetown, Kentucky team of David and Jerry Rodgers with a weight of 15.74 pounds and earning $400.00. The team had to leave before the interviews.
Fifth place went to the team of Daniel and Steve Gentz of St. Louis, Missouri with a weight of 15.31 pounds and earning $300.00. Daniel and Steve were fishing Yellow Creek in 14-16 feet of water using live bait tipped with Stubby Steve’s bait. The team credited Stubby Steve’s Bait for their good tournament finish 2 weeks in a row.
Congratulations to all the teams fishing this event. For a complete list of tournament standings and downloadable photos for this event visit www.crappieusa.com then go to Tournament Results.
Big Fish Award
Taking big fish of the event was the team of Dan Hudgens and Bruce Christian both of Dexter, Missouri with a 2.05 pound crappie and earning $200.00. Dan and Bruce caught big fish of the event in 5 feet of water up Bear Creek using glitter colored Southern Pro jigs. Second place in the big fish contest was the team of to Keith Griffin of Trenton, Tennessee and Brent Smith of Rutherford, Tennessee with a 2.03 pound crappie and earning $95.00.
Crappie USA Free Kids Fishing Rodeo
In conjunction with the tournament Crappie USA held their Kids Rodeo on Saturday morning with several local children attending the event. All the participants signed up for a chance to win one of 6-$1,000.00 scholarships to be drawn for at the Cabela’s Crappie USA Classic.
Crappie USA and our anglers have contributed nearly $310,000.00 to the “Crappie Kids” Scholarships since 1997. 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”.
A very special thanks to Mayor Ian Sanford, Susann Hamlin Executive Director of the Colbert County Tourism Commission, Colbert County Commissioners, Sheffield Parks and Recreation, said Crappie USA CEO Darrel VanVactor. Also a thanks to Foodland for making the Kids event a huge success, added VanVactor. The Crappie USA Kids Rodeo event was very successful with 63 children attending and catching over 200 fish in the two hours of the event.
Stats for the Tournament:
Weather-Temperatures both days was in the 80’s with wind 15 MPH on Friday and 10-15 MPH out of the east on Saturday.
