|
|
|
|
Enid Lake $100,000 Open Results - April 14, 2012 |
|
Enid Lake Winners |
| | Enid - Boo-coo Fish, Y’all |
Winning their first MCC tournament this season were Terry Stewart & “Little
Bit” Robertson, Clinton. Soon to be “Mr. & Mrs.”, we congratulate our Tournament
Director and his better half, our Sec-Treasurer. Not only do these
very busy people find time to get married, they serve the club in such professional
ways as Officers of the Club. Thank you, Tonya & Terry.
My, oh my—I can’t say enough good things about our friends and club
leaders, Terry and Tonya Stewart. By the time you read this, these newlyweds
will be on their honeymoon, and I’m betting fishing, live bait, and a
boat and motor will be a part of the honeymoon scene.
T’n’T are also leading the Points Race with only one tournament left.
And, I’m betting that if they can tear themselves away from their honeymoon
and fish Wolf, they’ll be hard to beat for the titles of 2012 Points
Champs. No guarantee, you understand—any thing can happen, but from
where I sit, they’re going to be very hard to knock out of 1st Place for the
year.
Tommy Moss can attest to the fact that on the way back from Enid I said
what a pleasurable year this has been for me, just because of the wonderful
jobs all the elected leaders of this club have done. Tommy agreed saying,
“That huge Enid Open went about as well as it could have gone—what a
trip!” He was especially talking about how smooth everything was coordinated
and executed with our first-ever “procession” (or as Mr. A.E. put it “our
first invasion—looked like Patton invading Italy with a big convoy of tanks.”)
and our largest fishing crowd of the regular season.
Thank you all for helping make the Enid event a wonderful memory —
one to which we will always be comparing the rest of our tournaments, past
and present.
Terry & Tonya, y’all bring your old married selves to Wolf, June 2nd.
We plan to get some of our money back fair and square. PJ
|
As Good As It Gets !!!
|
How could anyone catch more fish today than Shelton and I did?” exclaimed
Weighmaster, David Thornton!!! “I’m plum wore out! We’ve never
caught so many fish—ever—anywhere!”
That was the general sentiment from practically every team at one of
the largest weigh-ins in the 20-year history of MCC. Yes, I heard the “too
many little, skinny fish” complaints. It’s a shame when a fisherman starts
complaining about catching too many fish, isn’t it?
Here are some season stats that may help you appreciate Enid even
more. Bet you didn’t know those “little skinny fish” we weighed averaged
1.31 lbs apiece, did cha? Check out how that compares to other lakes.
|
# of Teams
|
Lake
|
# of fish
|
Total Wt
|
Avg Wt
|
Winning Wt
|
Big
Fish
|
|
|
Wolf
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
55
|
Enid
|
298
|
390.72
|
1.31
lbs
|
10.40 lbs
|
2.37
lbs
|
|
35
|
Sardis
|
171
|
264.48
|
1.55
lbs
|
12.66 lbs
|
2.49
lbs
|
|
43
|
Grenada
|
294
|
585.23
|
1.99
lbs
|
18.05 lbs
|
2.95
lbs
|
|
36
|
Wash
|
55
|
83.63
|
1.52
lbs
|
14.84 lbs
|
3.35
lbs
|
|
37
|
Chotard II
|
242
|
379.37
|
1.56
lbs
|
13.31 lbs
|
2.80
lbs
|
|
37
|
Barnett
|
170
|
195.56
|
1.16
lbs
|
12.11 lbs
|
2.31
lbs
|
|
38
|
Chotard
|
219
|
285.89
|
1.31
lbs
|
13.26 lbs
|
2.29
lbs
|
|
39
|
Arkabutla
|
199
|
340.61
|
1.71
lbs
|
14.68 lbs
|
2.67
lbs
|
Seems Big Bad Barnett was just that, pretty bad, comparatively speaking
from an average weight position. Sardis looks like our lowest participation
number so far this season. And, Washington produced the lowest
number of fish on a very cold, windy day. It’ll be interesting to see what our
last regular season of our 20th Season produces. Early summer pattern
on Wolf, after a 500-year flood, could set some kinds of records!!!
Grenada leads the heaviest fish categories of Total Wt (585.23 lbs), Avg
Wt (1.99 lbs), & Winning Wt (18.05 lbs). And, Washington, gives us our
heaviest Big Mama of the Year @ 3.35 lbs. I’m betting Wolf won’t top any
of these weight-related numbers. Oh, it’s good alright, but it ain’t that good.
One other stat that I like to keep up with is the number of teams participating
each season. Hands down our first-ever $100,000 Open at Enid
wins the “number of teams” award with 55 teams entering the event. Overall,
so far this season, we’ve averaged 40 teams per event—a huge growth
compared to recent years. It’s not our best ever, but our numbers are edging
back toward the benchmark of 42 teams that we averaged at our peak a
few years ago. And, if we throw in the 69 teams that participated in this
Season Big Mama Open at Grenada, we’d have to say this has been our
best season ever at over 43 teams per event!!! WOW ! Way to Go, MCC.
Each and every one of you has been responsible for such a wonderful
season. Let’s finish strong at Wolf, June 2. Hope some of you newest
guests and members will join us in Yazoo City.
PJ |
|
Top 5 Enid Winners
|
1st Place
New name tag for the winning team, please. Yes sir, Terry Stewart & Tonya
Robertson won their last tournament under this name tag placing 10.40 lbs of fish
on the scales. Congratulations to two of the greatest assets this club has. Y’all do
such great jobs in your respective club leadership roles. Thank You !! |
|
2nd Place
Y’all say hey and welcome to Eric and
Bridgett Neth from Pope, MS. 10.33 lbs
was real close to winning the Enid Open. |
|
3rd Place
Ronald & Danny Wade, always tough on
every lake we fish, didn’t miss 1st place by
much either with 10.32 lbs. Nice job, men. |
|
4th Place
Father/son team A.E. & Les Smith are “just
glad to be here” according to A.E. We’re
glad you are, too, A.E. 10.17 lbs ain’t bad. |
|
5th Place
Braxton Yount & Tony Lowrie scored 5th
place with 10.13 lbs. Nice to see you again
Tony. Welcome, Braxton. Good job!! |
|
Enid Big Fish Winners
|
1st Place Big Fish
David Tutor / Scott Hopper - 2.37#s |
2nd Place Big Fish
Sidney Moak / Dennis Moak - 2.36#s |
|
|
In The Running |
| 6th - Brandon Fulgham / Patrick Stone - 10.07#s |
11th - Sidney Moak /
Dennis Moak - 9.81#s |
| 7th - Anthony Reasons / John Woods - 9.97#s |
12th Johnny Walker / Morris Brewer / Hayden Breland - 9.79#s |
| 8th - Doug McCormick / David Newman - 9.91#s |
13th - John Harrison / Brad Taylor - 9.77#s |
| 9th - Andy Tackett / Calloway Harris -
9.90#s |
14th - Bernard Williams / Don Terry - 9.68#s |
| 10th - Ricky Hogue / Kevin Hogue - 9.82#s |
14th - Michael Nowell / Paula Nowell - 9.68#s |
|
Sardis Lake Results - April 14, 2012 |
|
Sardis Lake Winners |
Windy Sardis
Sardis proved to be a tough challenge on T-Day, didn’t it? No one said
this tournament fishing is always easy. Nonetheless, overall, we had big
fun on a big, big lake.
We kept hearing how great the fishing had been the days and weeks
before the week of our April 14th tournament, but, brother, Sardis just about
got the better of us on T-Day.
Like always, some team will figure it out and find a way to win, and this
time it was Jared Gray fishing with guest, Josh Byford. I heard that they
long-lined all day in the wind. That requires tough equipment, great batteries
and tough fishermen.
Winning their first MCC tournament ever, Jared Gray & Josh Byford, Calhoun
City, showed the rest of us that good stringers can be caught on a windy day.
Great job, men, y’all dun real good. Way to hang tough! Somebody’s gonna
have to teach Tommy and me how to do that long-lining
Congrats, Jared & Josh. We’re very glad to see some relatively new members
compete on such a high level. I think this is your second season to
fish with us.
Hey, I can testify, some of us have been competing for decades without
having ever won an event. I’m proud of you and proud for you.
Keep up the great effort, and win that $100,000 at Enid. It’s right in your
backyard. All you have to do is long-line that giant up from the depths of
the lake where the current world record came from—1957, weighed 5
pounds 3 ounces—caught by Fred Bright.
Looking forward to it, gang. PJ
|
$100K, Really ? -- As Good As It Gets !!!
|
Thank you Lois & Les Smith for the great BBQ Friday nite at Sardis!!
You and your cooking and serving crews were way too good to this bunch.
We really enjoyed it, and all who attended said so.
Can you believe it—we only have two regular tournaments to go!! Geez,
time flies when you’re having fun. My job here is to help get all our teams
ready to compete in the Post-Season and to promote the our first-ever
$100,000 tournament.
We have 22 teams are already qualified—
points wise—to compete in the Post-Season. You’ll recall that to be qualified for the Post-Season
you must enter 6 tournaments and have a total of 80 points or more and
buy one Splash for Cash raffle book per adult fisherman. You get 10 points
for entering each tournament.
We have several “bubble” teams who I know will qualify, and we have a
few teams who can qualify by back paying a tournament or two and fishing
the last two tournaments of the year. I project we will have 40 or so teams
participate in the 2012 Post Season Payout Package and Magnolia State
Championship. That’s a really good number for us, MCCers. Way to go—
that means we’ve had a really good year with really good participation. As
President of this fine organization, that makes my chest swell just a little bit
more. Good Job, folks.
My second job here is to promote the May 5th $100,000 Enid Tournament.
That’s right—$100,000 plus the normal Top 15 places are at stake
in this first-time-ever WORLD’S LARGEST CRAPPIE OPEN TOURNAMENT
hosted by the Water Valley Main Street Association. This is a
open event, so I expect to have some fishermen enter who are potential
MCC members. We want to do a good job of welcoming our guests and
inviting them to join our club.
The $100,000 Top Prize guarantee is sponsored by our good friends
and sponsors Bandit Lures and B’n’M Poles plus
Doc’s Table Restaurant in Water Valley. I think almost everyone now understands that we’ve
bought the same kind of “Odds On” insurance that is often used for golf,
bowling, and other sporting events to cover our $100,000 Top Prize.
Nothing tricky here, friends. Plain facts are that if you catch the next
World Record Crappie in the tournament, pass the polygraph, and have
the fish certified by the International Game Fish Assoc as a World Record,
you’ve just won $100,000 + Big Fish money for the day + Big Mama
money for the year (if you’re a Post-Season qualifier).
This is a big deal for MCC. It’s as good as it gets. Come join us. I’d
love to see each and every one of you at this first-ever-in-the-entire-country-$100,000 event. I’m sure we’ll have a blast!!! PJ |
1st Place
“Long-liners for life”, Jared Gray with guest Josh Byford, brought an impressive
stringer of 7 crappie weighing 12.66 lbs to the scales. Since I was tied to a rock all
day, and didn’t speak with these winners at the weigh-in, I have no idea when,
where or how they caught the winning string. But, it was a good job, men!!! |
|
2nd Place
Patrick Stone and Anthony Reasons turned
in 12.54 lbs for 2nd place. That’s just a
shad or two behind the winning team, guys.
|
|
3rd Place
Don Terry & Bernard Williams long-lined on
a windy day and managed 3rd place with
12.48 lbs. Very nice catch, Don & Bernard. |
|
4th Place
Sandy Tackett’s daddy, Andy, and
Calloway Harris hung with the rocking and
rolling on the east end and scored 11.99 lb. |
|
5th Place
Steve Stevenson & Hugh Krutz weighed
11.95 lbs fishing isolated, stump fields out
in the middle of the lake. Good job, fellers!! |
| |
In The Running |
| 6th - Michael Nowell / Paula Nowell - 11.55#s |
11th - John Harrison / Brad Taylor - 10.57#s |
| 7th - Roger Womack / Katie Womack - 11.29#s |
12th Paul Johnson / Mike Worrell (g) - 10.49#s |
| 8th - Danny Wade / Ronald Wade - 11.18#s |
13th - Shelton Culpepper / David Thornton - 9.87#s |
| 9th - Sid Steen / Scott Steen -
10.95#s |
14th - Stan Tallant / Chris Johnson - 9.05#s |
| 10th - Vic Finkley / Lee Hankins - 10.83#s |
15th - Lance Evans / Jason Moak (g) - 8.96#s |
|
Grenada Lake Results - March 17, 2012 |
|
Grenada Lake Winners |
Grenada was the best ever, averaging 1.99 lbs for 294 fish weighed!
The best of the best was the Brad Taylor / John Harrison team, scoring
over 18 pounds for their best 7 fish. It’s amazing that no 3 lbers were
caught on a day when we averaged 1.99 lbs per fish. That’s a club record—
best I can recall. I know this, we usually average just over 1.1 lbs
per fish for the season—amazing, ain’t it!! John told me on Thursday that this would be a real doo-zey of a weigh-in.
Winning their second tournament of the season were Brad Taylor & his little
short buddy, John Harrison. They out weighed a strong showing from every
one with 18.05 lbs. Let me tell you, these boys could win out for the remaining
3 tournaments. They’re tough on every lake we fish.
“If you haven’t got at least 16 to 18 lbs don’t even bother coming to the
scales,” was John’s prediction. He wasn’t far off, was he. 15th place
weighed over 15 pounds.
Think about that for a second. Most tournaments are won with 15 lbs!!
We really picked a good date for this tournament, and, only days before TDay,
several of us were making plans for extreme low water conditions on
Grenada. I had calls and emails asking about the low water level. Several
teams were making plans to gear up for low water conditions.
We have 61 teams signed up so far this year. I want to
say that is a club record, too. Still, every team listed on page 6 can quality
to go to the State Championship, June 22 & 23, Chotard/Eagle. Our pay
back rule will catch you up. You must have a minimum 6 tournaments
entered, and a total of 80 points to get into the post-season.
And, don’t forget to pay for your Splash for Cash raffle tickets.
So many new names and faces. So many youngsters. Y’all are doing
really good, MCC. Keep it up!!
PJ
|
Has it ever been better???
|
WOW!! Folks, we just went from as “bad as it gets” to “Has it ever
been better than this?” Seems like a distant memory now, but you will
recall how terrible the conditions and the fish catching were at Lake Washington—
only one tournament before Grenada—right?
If you’re new to tournament fishing, and a lot of this year’s group is,
you’ve just seen the best of it, immediately following the worst of it.
You’ll recall that we had a guest at the weigh-in the other day at Grenada,
Mickey Howley, with the World’s Largest Crappie Festival, Water
Valley, MS. Mickey asked, as he watched with great interest and enthusiasm
if this (Grenada) was one of our better tournaments.
My answer was an emphatic “yes—this is as good as it gets”. Huge
turnout for MCC—our largest so far in the 2012-13 Season at 43 teams.
Great weather and practically every team caught a lot of fish all day long.
I’m still thoroughly impressed with all the new faces we’re seeing at
every event this season. How encouraging a message it is to see teams
using our liberal “guest” rule and our “bring a kid—3 people in a boat rule”!
New member Johnny Walker locked right into both these opportunities
bringing a guest, Morris Brewer and grandson, Hayden Breland. Now that’s
the way to do it, Johnny. We’re so glad to have you and all our new members’
and first-time guests’ enthusiasm and support this year.
Mr. Howley’s comment after observing our MCC bunch and weigh-in
procedures for almost an hour said upon his leaving, “You’ve got a great
bunch of folks in your club—just exactly what we were hoping MCC would
bring to our May 5th World’s Largest Crappie Festival. I can’t wait to
report to the Water Valley Main Street Association what a great addition this
crappie tournament will be to our 2nd Annual Festival.
People, I’ve been involved with this thing since it’s beginning 20 years
ago, and I can honestly say that this, our 20th tournament season, feels like
one of the best we’ve ever had. And, to me, that means that not only are
we seeing so many new faces this year, but, overall, the fishing’s been
really good on T-Day, the smiles and laughter and enthusiasm of all involved
is unsurpassed, and the issues have been almost non-existent..
Speaking of issues, we had a slight hiccup with the weigh-in the other
day. As you know, Tommy Moss and I weighed first and a weight of 18.48
pounds was announced. No two people were more surprised than Tommy
and I. And, after a short reflection and discussion with “weigh-master
In-Training”
Bo Hudson and Head Weigh-master David Thornton, Tommy and I
insisted that our fish be weighed again, knowing that we didn’t really have
the 18 pound basket that Bo called. And, even though our rules say fish
will only be weighed one time, Tommy and I knew we could not accept any
prize that we didn’t earn. Over the mild protest of tournament officials,
Tommy and I convinced them that the fair thing to do for all was to re-weigh
our fish. We’re glad we cleared up any potential issue quickly.
Looking forward to seeing you all at Sardis, April 14th. PJ |
1st Place
John Harrison / Brad Taylor - 18.05#s |
|
2nd Place
Graham Taylor (guest) / Charles Lindsey - 16.98#s |
|
3rd Place
Sidney Moak / Dennis Moak - 16.84#s |
|
4th Place
Tommy Moss / Paul Johnson - 16.40#s |
|
5th Place
Dawn Williams / Ray Williams - 16.33#'s |
|
1st Place Big Fish
Brad Taylor / John Harrison - 2.95#s |
2nd Place Big Fish
Steve Stevenson / Hugh Krutz - 2.85#s |
| |
In The Running |
| 6th - Joe Lowery / Randy Bouchillon - 16.25#s |
11th - Craig Cannon / Jared Gray - 15.53#s |
| 7th - Andy Tackett / Calloway Harris - 16.20#s |
12th Jimmy Smith / Ricky Smith - 15.36#s |
| 8th - Shelton Culpepper / David Thornton - 16.15#s |
13th - Johnny Weatherford / Freddie Weeks - 15.31#s |
| 9th - Bernard
Williams / Don Terry -
15.76#s |
14th - Hugh Krutz /
Steve Stevenson - 15.26#s |
| 10th - Keith Sullivan / Monty Blount - 15.55#s |
15th - Kent Driscoll - 15.23#s |
|
Lake Washington Results - February 11, 2012
|
Lake Washington Winners
|
Lake Washington was tough I tell you-- T-U-F-F, tough!!!
But, MCC rookies, Warren Cotton and Kirk Lewis, Memphis, TN, found
some really good fish the first two hours of the day. After catching what
turned out to be the winning stringer by a wide margin, Cotton told me they
didn’t get another bite after 9:00 o’clock Saturday morning.
MCC new comers, Warren Cotton and Kirk Lewis hail from Memphis. This
was their 2nd MCC tournament, and they finished in the Top 5 at Arkabutla.
What I’m trying to tell you is that this team is G-O-O-D !!! Over 14 pounds on
a day when every other team was struggling just to get a bite. Congrats !!!
Where and how did they fish, you ask? We’ve got the answers. They put in at Cordell’s Landing and never cranked the big motor. They slow
trolled minnows around the piers to begin with and then moved out from the
bank a ways to 4 and 5 feet of water.
No one was more surprised than these two men when they got to the
weigh-in line. They pretty much figured everyone else would have the
same kind of day, and they were sick about their early bite playing out on
them. That’s before they saw the rest of the club’s catch.
And, get this—these guys didn’t put in a minute’s practice. In fact, they
got to Lake Washington Friday nite after the fish fry was over—you can
imagine, they were a little upset about that, too. Warren told me that he
has been fishing crappie tournaments for several years with another partner,
and decided to join MCC this year, bringing Kirk with him.
Congratulations, men, y’all dun good, and we’re glad to have you in the
club. Now, you need to get qualified for the post-season. Pay attention
later in the newsletter to the “Post Season Qualifiers” section. See you
fellers at Grenada—I imagine. Great job on a T-U-F-F day.;
PJ |
|
As Bad As It Gets |
Although our official club motto is
“as good as it gets”, I’ve got to admit,
tournament day on Lake Washington was “as bad as it gets”. Listen,
we’ve fished tournaments when it was colder. We’ve had tournaments just
as windy—remember the dust storms at Grenada a few years ago.
But, to the best of my recollection, we’ve never had conditions this bad
with the fishing this sorry as it was at Washington. Certainly, that’s no
one’s fault and no reflection on this wonderful Mississippi crappie fishery.
We’ll be back. It was just a bad day, weather wise, on Lake Washington.
Nonetheless, we had 36 really crazy and tough teams hit the lake
under the absolute worst conditions a person could script. I want to compliment
the “toughness” and safe-mindedness of everyone who fished,
while at the same time suggesting that you probably ought to have yourselves
checked out by the head doctor real soon.
What in the world would make grown men and women and a couple or
three kids venture out into gale-force wind with the wind chill in the single
digits? Hey, I know the answer, and the answer makes this club even
stronger & tougher than I think we’ve ever been.
Not only are you people crazy, you’re one hardheaded
bunch of tough, dedicated fisherpersons.
And, speaking of tough! We men like to think we’re the strong one on
the man-woman spectrum, don’t we? I want to say to Deanna, Delta Dawn,
Jackie, Kid Addysen (15 or so, I think), Paula, and Little Bit (that’s Short
Stack, in case you were wondering), you ladies are “tooough”—and
good, too.
We now know who’s catching the fish on the team currently sitting on
top of the Points Race, don’t we. Tonya “Little Bit” Robertson scored a
huge Big Mama @ 3.35 pounds. That’s one shad south of the club record.
Finally, we had two double-tough boys in the boats on Lake Washington.
Eight year old Logan Grice, fishing with granddad Earl Oswalt, and 10
year old Cole Rowell fishing with his dad, Eli. These young fellows, as we
all know, are great kids to be around, and sticking with these awful weather
conditions just proves how unique and special you two boys are. MCC is
fortunate to have you in the club.
As bad as T-Day was, the rest of the Lake Washington Experience
was great! Working backwards in chronological order, I want to say thank
you to Roy Norwood, with assistance from Charles Lindsay and others, for
the Fish Fry Friday night. And, thank you Pam Hammond for opening your
store, Roys, to us for our use on Friday nite. I hope all who tried ‘em enjoyed
the Liver and Onions cooking on Thursday nite. And, a small crowd
of us ate all the Shrimp & Oysters we could, courtesy of Rod Womack on
Wednesday nite.
Now, I know the real reason we all “toughed it out” at Lake Washington.
These are the times that make MCC as good as it gets! PJ |
Warren Cotton and Kirk Lewis introduce themselves by winning our Lake Washington
tournament. These gentlemen fished Arkabutla and scored in the Top 5
there, too. All I can tell you is that I’m paying closer attention to where this team
fishes at Grenada, aren’t you? Great Job, Guys!!! 14.84 lbs is pretty dang good. |
|
3.35 for the biggest Big Mama so far this
year caught by “Little Bit” Robertson. Oh
yeah, they came in 2nd, too with 11.29 lbs.
|
|
Ken Middleton & Larry Nipper placed 3rd
fishing in the Alligator Hole all day. Nice
catch on a tough day, men. 10.67 lbs |
|
Welcome back, Vic. Where you been?
We’re so glad to see you in the Top 5 with
7.68 lbs of hard to come by crappie. |
|
Robbie Nivens & David McWilliams scored
a 3.13 lb slab and 5th place at 6.57 lbs.
Good Job, Yazoo County Team !! |
|
1st Place Big Fish
Tonya Robertson / Terry Stewart - 3.35#s |
2nd Place Big Fish
Robbie Nivens / David McWilliams - 3.13#s |
| |
In The Running |
| 6th - Krutz / Stevenson
- 4.91#s |
11th Johnson / Moss - 2.53#s |
| 7th - Grice / Oswalt - 3.23#s |
12th Harris / Tackett - 2.42#s |
| 8th - Jeffcoats / Rogers - 3.05#s |
13th Womack / Womack - 2.03#s |
| 9th Harrison /
Taylor - 2.90#s |
14th J Carr - 1.96#s |
| 10th White / White - 2.79#s |
15th Wade / Wade - 1.76#s |
|
|
Chotard II Results - January 14, 2012 |
|
Chotard II Winners |
Kent Holmes and Alan Morgan, an MCC veteran team of many, many
tournaments, showed the rest of us what a little more time on the water can
mean. No one works harder at winning a tournament than these two old pros. Talk about daylight to dark, John Harrison ain’t got nuthin’ on these
here fellers. “We love it,” said Kent “Get-Along” Holmes. “You can’t get Pa
off the lake before dark,” soft-spoken Alan told me at the Friday nite Get-
Together. “He comes to fish, and we’re catching a lot of fish on Chotard.”
Two of MCC’s finest veteran members showed out at Chotard, weighing in
13.31 pounds of Chotard’s finest. Big fish were abundant, coming in
bunches to the scales. Close race, but in the end, Mr. Holmes and Mr. Morgan
showed the rest of us how to best the best. Congrats, gentlemen!!!
Holmes and Morgan finished in the
Top 5 in the Overall Points Race
last season and currently hold the 5th spot this season, so we know these
men are good on every lake we fish.
Look for Get-Along and Big Head to Repeat or 3-peat this season.
When these boys get on a roll, they really dig in.
Lake Washington is always good to them, and it’s up next. It wouldn’t
surprise me one bit if we saw these same two fishermen standing in the
winners circle at Lake Washington. Keep an eye on this team—pay attention
to what, where, and how they fish. Plan on starting early and staying
late if you’re going to scout them before the next tournament. They sure
put in the practice time.
Roy’s Store at the north end of the lake will be our tournament Headquarters.
Lake Washington in February can be “as good as it gets”.
PJ |
|
As Good As It Gets |
Chotard did not disappoint, did it? Yes, this was one of our best tournaments
so far this season for several reasons. One, the fish bit. Man, did
the fish bite on Chotard!
Only days before the Chotard tournament I had calls and e-mails asking
me, begging me, threatening me to move the tournament to Eagle Lake.
TD Terry Stewart was receiving the same kinds of calls, too. Some were
sure that Eagle Lake was hot and Chotard was not. Some were convinced
that Chotard would be too high, have too much water, or be extremely
muddy on T-Day.
First-year Tournament Director Terry Stewart held firm to our scheduled agreement,
and everything worked out great. Good job, Terry.
None of those fears were reality, were they? The lake was on a fall, the
Vicksburg river level was well below our cut-off mark of 35 feet, and the
water was as clear and beautiful as I’ve ever seen it.
And, man, the fish bit! That’s always a factor that makes one tournament
more memorable than others—catching fish, catching huge fish.
You will note that the 2 largest fish for Split #1 Big Mama came from
Chotard on page 6. Randy Bouchillon/Joe Lowery weighed a 2.80 lb monster,
and Jennifer & John Ratcliff (2nd place in the tournament) weighed a
huge Chotard fish @ 2.68 lbs. Those results are one of the reasons we
fished Chotard twice this season.
And, as a reminder, before the weigh-in, I announced that Chotard
closed the Big Mama Split # 1. Please note that to qualify for Big Mama
payouts teams must meet the minimum participation level for Post-Season
Payouts.
This year, that minimum participation level is to enter 6 regular tournaments
and earn at least 80 points. Again, see page 6 for current participation
levels for all teams. All that is to say that should any of the five
teams currently listed to win Split # 1 Big Mama money not qualify, we go
to the scorebook and pick the next heaviest fish caught during these first
four events. We pay the money at the Awards Banquet.
The second reason we scheduled two events on Chotard this season
was to support and say thank you to long-term club sponsor, Chotard Resort
Landing. Mark Johnson and staff did a wonderful job as our hosts
under “flood recovery” conditions. The Friday night Get-Together, sponsored
by Chotard Landing, was “as good as it gets”, and we’ve never had
tournament hosts who were so cordial and welcoming before.
Thank you Chotard Landing!!! We love coming here and fishing for
some of the biggest and best crappie in the state of Mississippi. What an
adventure, what a tournament!!! PJ |
1st Place
Kent Holmes / Alan Morgan - 13.31#s |
|
2nd Place
Jennifer Ratcliff / John Ratcliff - 12.94#s |
|
3rd Place
Jimmy Smith / Jimmy L. Smith (guest) - 12.67#s |
|
4th Place
Danny Wade / Ronald Wade - 12.66#s |
|
5th Place
Brad Chappell / Bo Hudson - 12.64#'s |
|
1st Place Big Fish
Randy Bouchillon / Joe Lowery - 2.80#s |
2nd Place Big Fish
Jennifer Ratcliff / John Ratcliff - 2.68#s |
| |
In The Running |
| 6th - Ken Middleton - 12.63#s |
11th - Eli Rowell /
Cole Rowell -11.81#s |
| 7th - Joe Lowery / Randy Bouchillon - 12.40#s |
12th Dennis Moak / Sidney Moak - 11.53#s |
| 8th - John Harrison / Brad Taylor - 12.30#s |
13th - Paul Johnson / Tommy Moss - 11.51#s |
| 8th - Hugh Krutz / Steve Stevenson - 12.30#s |
14th - Chris Horton /
Kevin Horton - 11.38#s |
| 10th - Shelton Culpepper / David Thornton - 11.97#s |
15th - Chris Criswell / Christopher Criswell - 11.34#s |
|
Barnett Results - December 17, 2011 |
|
Barnett Winners |
Robbie Niven and David McWilliams, a rookie team this year, showed
the old pros in this club how it’s done on a cold, windy December day on
Barnett. Windy down in the main lake? No problem, take it “upriver” and
push minnows thru some heavy tops and lay downs; lose your net along
As tournament organizers, we’re always happy to see teams do well—
especially new ones. At Barnett, David McWilliams and Robbie Niven, Yazoo
City, MS, did really well winning the tournament “up river” with 7 huge specks
weighing 12.11 lbs. Great job, fellers, and welcome to MCC.
the way; and miss the biggest fish of the day. Result—tournament winners
in only their second tournament as a team.
Both Robbie and David fished a tournament or two last year as guests of
other team members. We’re sure glad you Yazoo boys showed back up
this year. Keep it going.
I won’t disclose the exact location of David and Robbie’s upriver success.
But, I can tell you that the top 3 weights came from the same area.
When Tommy Moss and I made our move to our third stop, they were already
there—slow trolling the outside edges of the river structure.
We fished close to one another for the first 30 minutes or so and then
they broke to the other side of the river, and Tommy and I continued upriver,
around the next bend. After a couple of hours of being out of sight of
the winning team Tommy and I worked our way back down stream around
the same bend and danged if David and Robbie weren’t exactly where we’d
left them. Tommy said to me, “Those boys must be on a good top over
there.” Turns out they sure were.
Good turnout at Barnett with 37 teams participating. Take note of the
new names and faces at each of our events and be sure to make all our
members feel welcomed in the MCC family. Glad to see all. PJ |
|
As Good As It Gets |
Did she say yes? Yes, she certainly did.
Terry Stewart won the best prize of the day
when his sweetheart and fishing partner,
Tonya Robertson, said yes to Terry’s marriage
proposal.
Talk about the MCC Family! Tonya and
Terry sure illustrated the point at the Barnett
weigh in.
Upon his arrival, I told Bobby Cleveland, Outdoors writer for the Clarion
Ledger, what was going to happen before the weigh in, and he said, “That’s
great—sure makes the point that MCC is a family-oriented club.”
Yes, Tonya, Terry told a few us on Friday what he had planned and
quite frankly we were worried what Terry would do if you said, “let me think
about it”. I asked Terry if he was sure about doing this in public, stating that
he might get his heart broken, and he told me he’d never been more sure of
anything in his life. You could certainly see the excitement in Terry’s face
on Friday which turned into relief and happiness on Saturday.
As you all know, Tonya and Terry are not only tough tournament competitors
on any given lake at any given time, they also serve the club as
officers. Terry is the Tournament Director, and Tonya is our Sec-Treas.
What a great couple!!! And, we’re all so glad, Terry & Tonya, that you
let us share your happiness and excitement. Terry, you did a fine job of the
whole thing, sir. Shoot, most of us men could not have gotten thru your
proposal without messing it up somehow.
And, Tonya—well, Tonya, all I can say now is that you didn’t hesitate for
a second, making Terry one happy, lucky man.
Check with Paula and Mike Nowell, newlyweds last year, about honeymoon
plans. As we all know, Paula and Mike spent their honeymoon fishing
our Arkabutla tournament last season.
Congratulations, you two!! I’ve got an idea for the wedding. Let’s do it
on the lake. I didn’t say at the lake. I said on the lake. Some of you oldtimers
will remember the first memorial service we did on the water after
long-time member Elmo Lyons died, don’t you? We had 35 boats in procession
and we gathered around just north of the 43 bridge. We played a
hymn or two, said a prayer or two, and gave a short eulogy. Hey, a wedding
and a funeral have a few things in common, don’t they?
That new boat you’ve got is plenty big enough to get a preacher and a
couple of bridesmaids and a best man on board. The flower girl and the
ring bearer can come out in a separate boat. And, we can hold the reception
under the pavilion after the weigh in. How’s that sound?PJ |
1st Place
David McWilliams and Robbie Niven score big at their second tournament as a
new team. I can vouch for them. We fished the same undisclosed area. They
found a really good top and stayed on it for most of the day. Say, how do you
score over 12 pounds without weighing a 2-lber? Answer—They’re all good ‘uns. |
|
2nd Place
Jackie and Rod Womack (some folks calls
her Katie—I calls her Jackie) caught some
upriver slabs, too. Great job with 11.99 lbs. |
|
3rd Place
Tommy Moss, in the drivers seat all day,
with Paul Johnson handling the dip net
scored a really nice 3rd place with 10.89 lb. |
|
4th Place
Welcome back, Charles Lindsay. You, too,
Junior. Always hard to beat this father/son
team who turned in 9.55 lbs. |
|
5th Place
Tournament pros, Joe Lowrey and Randy
Bouchillon, bested 32 other teams placing
5th with 9.41 lbs. Nice job, men. |
|
1st & 2nd Place Big Fish
Katie & Rodger Womack won both Big Fish prizes with 2.31# and 2.17# slabs. |
| |
In The Running |
| 6th - Jimmy Smith - 9.31lbs |
11th - Ken Middleton /
Larry Nipper - 7.78lbs |
| 7th - Dawn Williams / Ray Williams -
8.86bs |
12th (Tie) - Cole Rowell / Eli Rowell - 7.50lbs |
| 8th - Shelton Culpepper / David Thornton -
8.65lbs |
12th (Tie) - Dennis Moak / Sidney Moak -
7.50lbs |
| 9th - Pat Jeffcoats / Rabbit Rodgers -
8.14lbs |
14th - Brad Chappell / Bo Hudson -
7.30lbs |
| 10th - Ronald Wade / Danny Wade -
7.83lbs |
15th - Chris Horton / Ron Brewer - 7.12lbs |
|
|
Chotard Lake Results - November 12, 2011 |
|
Chotard Winners |
Brad Taylor and John Harrison, MCC
Board Members, won the Chotard tournament
employing a new strategy. Brad told me that John
found some good fish on one top up in Albemarle
while pre-fishing.
“We made sure we got to ‘the spot’ before Shelton and David, and we stayed on it all day. The top was real thick, and we broke off and re-tied 50 times, literally using up a 50 count pack of hooks. We caught close to 60 fish on that one top! No, sir, didn’t crank the motor all day except to get
there and get back”, according to John when asked if they fished a lot of
spots. Great job to a couple of club leaders. Y’all dun good!!
John told me they kept trying to figure out how to use their sponsors’
products in that top, but they never could get that Bandit crank bait to stay
down. And they quickly lost all their Mr. Twister stuff to the brush.
So it was good ol’ Eagle Claw hooks and straight minnows that won the
day for them. They didn’t even need their GPS unit, their lake maps, their
side-imaging depth finder, their I-Pilot trolling motor, or their fish whistle.
I figure these fellows will be hard to handle the rest of the year. Look out
Barnett, John and Brad figure on making it two in a row.
Our one and only Barnett tourney is up next, Dec 10. We’ll base the
tournament out of the Hwy 43 Boat Ramps Pavilion. Early December on
Barnett can be really good with fish feeding up before cold weather kicks in.
Jig fishermen, slow trollers with minnows, long-liners using jigs and crank
baiters can all win this event. It’ll be any body’s tournament to win, and,
given good weather, it will come down to who can catch 7 really good ones.
Looking forward to it. Hope to see 47 teams at Barnett. PJ |
|
As Good As It Gets |
Chotard didn’t disappoint. Chotard, as always, gave us a great, fun
time for a day or two. I guess we look forward to making the Chotard tournament
because it’s always more than just a fishing tournament.
It has an appeal for many of us for several reasons. One, the three
lakes, Chotard/Albermarle/Tennessee, are some of the most beautiful resources
our Magnolia State has. And, those beautiful waters contain some
of the biggest crappie in the State of Mississippi. Two, our on-the-lake
sponsors, Mark and Jerry Johnson of Chotard Landing Resort, top my list
for being so accommodating to our bunch.
Three, we know how to tailgate—we’ve become experts at it. And, Chotard
tops the list for our bunch when we gather for a cookout. Yes, we have
good times wherever Rod Womack cranks up the music, and he and Shelton
fire up the grills. Chotard seems just right for our outdoor, fun-loving
crowd.
And, y’all do know that the Johnsons have been through a once in a
lifetime flood this year—shoot, someone called it a 500 year flood—taxing
their limits to bring it back to what it used to be and handle a group the size
of MCC.
Mark and Jerry, thank you again for making our first-of-this-season Chotard
tournament such a success. We’ll be back in January. Make your
reservations now, folks. It’ll be duck season soon, 601-279-4282.
And, a great big thank you to David Thornton, Eagle Lake, MS. David
hosted any one and every one who wanted to come to his house on Thursday
night. The fish was good, the hushpuppies were great, the pickled
onions sublime and the company was so fine. Thank you, David. We really
enjoyed it.
I was very pleased with the Chotard turnout—especially after I heard the
wind forecast for T-Day. We had 38 teams according to Sec-Treas “Short
Stack” Tonya Robertson. And, in the mix of the 38 teams were a bunch of
new faces. Hope all you new folks keep coming on back—we need you.
Tonya tells me that we had 8 teams for whom Chotard was their first
event to enter this season. Adding those 8 teams to the 39 teams we had
at Arkabutla puts our roster at a total of 47 teams very early in our season.
And, the potential for continued growth this year is still there because we’ve
had a good number of guests thru two tournaments this season.
I encourage all 47 Teams to be at the Barnett event, Dec 10. See T.D.
Terry Stewart’s page for details. Plus, George Walker & Ray Clary are
hosting a Friday Get-Together beginning at 3:00 PM at the Hwy 43 Pavilion
at the boat ramps. I promised ’em I’d cook some of my infamous “liver &
onions”. Join us, but you’d better bring something to throw on the grill. PJ |
1st Place
Brad Taylor and John Harrison serve the club and members of the Board of Directors.
In addition to serving in these leadership roles, these 2 fine gentlemen know
how to catch fish on T-Day. Without moving from one top all day, John and Brad
scored the winning total of 13.26 pounds and they caught the Big Fish of the day. |
|
2nd Place
Board member, Ken Middleton and partner
Larry Nipper caught big enough fish off of
Culpepper’s top. They weighed 12.18 lbs |
|
3rd Place
Weigh-Master David Thornton and club V-P
Shelton Culpepper did good, too. They
weighed 11.85 lbs of Albemarle specks. |
|
4th Place
Two more of the club’s Directors, Terry
Stewart and Tonya Robertson, did very
well at Chotard, again. 11.84 lbs. |
|
5th Place
Club rookies Calloway Harris and Andy
Tackett hit the Top 5 in their 2nd MCC tournament.
Great job, men with 11.52 lbs. |
|
1st Place Big Fish
New team this year, but both are tournament veterans—Brad Taylor and
John Harrison won the Big Fish with 2.29lb slab. |
2nd Place Big Fish
Club President Paul Johnson &
Board-Member Tommy Moss with 2.24lb Black Crappie. |
| |
In The Running |
| 6th - Eli Rowell /
Cole Rowell - 10.31lbs |
11th (Tie)- Buras / Gunter - 9.69lbs |
| 7th - Kent Holmes/ Alan Morgan -
9.92bs |
11th (Tie) - Pitts / Sumrall - 9.69lbs |
| 8th (Tie) - Bernard Williams /
Don Terry -
9.83lbs |
13th - Ronald Wade / Danny Wade - 9.68lbs |
| 8th (Tie) - Rod
Womack/ Katie Womack -
9.83lbs |
14th - Brad Chappell / Bo Hudson - 9.57lbs |
| 8th (Tie) - Randy Bouchillion / Joe Lowrey - 9.83lbs |
15th - Hugh Krutz / Steve Stevenson - 8.95lbs |
|
|
Arkabutla Winners - October 22, 2011 |
1st Place
Rev. Mickey Ferguson (guest) & Ray Williams
15.09#'s |
|
2nd Place
Bernard Williams & Don Terry
14.41#'s
& 2nd Big Fish 2.63#'s |
|
3rd Place Tie
Warren Cotton & Kirk Lewis
13.06#'s |
|
3rd Place Tie
Ray Clary & George Walker
13.06#'s |
|
4th Place
Hugh Krutz & Steve Stevenson
13.03#'s |
|
1st Place Big Fish
Craig Cannon & Jared Gray |
| |
In The Running |
| 6th - Eli Rowell /
Cole Rowell - 12.99lbs |
11th - Roy Norwood - 12.00lbs |
| 7th - Anthony Reasons/ Tony
Lowrie - 12.95lbs |
12th - Rod Womack/ Katie Womack - 11.76lbs |
| 8th - Ron Nobles / Chris Pender -
12.56lbs |
12th - Kent Holmes/ Alan Morgan - 11.76lbs |
| 9th - Andy Tackett / Calloway Harris -
12.51lbs |
14th - Randy
Bouchillon/ Joe Lowrey - 11.63lbs |
| 10th - Monty Blount - 12.49lbs |
15th - Sidney Moak / Dennis Moak - 11.24lbs |
|
MCC 2011-2012 Tournament Schedule
|
| Date |
Lake |
Location |
| Oct. 22, 2011 |
Arkabutla |
Arkabutla, MS |
| Nov. 12, 2011 |
Chotard |
Vicksburg, MS |
| Dec. 10, 2011 |
Barnett |
Madison, MS |
| Jan. 14th, 2012 |
Chotard Lake (with
Eagle Lake substitute, should conditions warrant) |
Vicksburg, MS |
| Feb.11th, 2012 |
Lake Washington |
Glen Allen, MS |
| Mar.17th, 2012 |
Grenada Lake |
Grenada, MS |
| Apr. 14th, 2012 |
Sardis Reservoir |
Sardis, MS |
| May 5th, 2012 |
Enid Reservoir (Open
Tournament, no club membership required, part of the 2nd Annual World’s Largest Crappie Fest) |
Water Valley, MS |
| June 2nd, 2012 |
Wolf Lake |
Yazoo City, MS |
| TO BE ANNOUNCED |
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP -
BIG MAMA OPEN |
GRENADA, MS |
|
Championship Results - Sept. 17-18, 2011 -
Grenada, MS |
Championship Winners |
|
John Harrison & Kent Driscoll won the State Champs Title at Grenada in
a really close race. They did it coming from "back In the pack" after Day
One. In fact, they didn't make the Top 10 teams for Day One, and John
said they changed locations on the lake on Day Two and ''went for broke".
John Harrison and Kent Driscoll show off the State Championship Trophies
at Grenada. Great job, men!
Being on the "hot seat" while watching the next ten teams weigh in trying
to knock them out of 1st place was an anxious time for this veteran team to
say the least. They were over-joyed when George Walker/Ray Clary, Day
One leaders and the last team to weigh-in, didn't have quite enough to
overtake them.
Driscoll/Harrison registered 23.68 pounds for a two day total that was
just enough to survive the late push by 2nd place overall finishers Robertson/Stewart
(23.40 lbs) and Clary/Walker (22.90 lbs).
I'm proud to see such great assets to the club do so well. These men
contribute so much to MCC's overall success. Both raise lots of sponsorship
money and facilitate things the rest of us just couldn't make happen.
Thank you, Kent and John. You fellers come on back next season.
We'll be glad to try to win some of that money back.
Speaking of next season, it's here!! Yes, sir, right now we're making
plans for the next first event at Arkabutla on October 22nd. See the details
in following pages in this issue. Last October we had one of the best tournaments
of the year on Arkabutla. Some of the heaviest fish and limits
were caught, and I know that if you fished it last year, you're like me and
can't wait to get back to Hernando, MS.
Bring a new member or a guest fisherman with you. We just finished a
big growth year, folks, in membership, sponsorship, and tournament participation. Let's keep the momentum going. PJ
|
|
2011 Big Mama Open |
The Big Mama Open got even bigger this year1 Our 2nd Annual BMO
brought in 69 teams vs 63 teams a year ago. That's nearly a 10 % growth
rate, and any business enterprise in America would be tickled pink right
now with a 10 % growth number. We should be, too.
The Grenada COE were such wonderful hosts again this year. Our
buddy, Mr. Don Gober, Chief of the Grenada COE Office. IS retiring in December,
and I want to say thank you, Mr. Gober, and thank you to all the
other Grenada Park Rangers and Game Wardens and staff who helped
facilitate our growing numbers at Grenada.
We look forward to coming back as often as we can. The best to you
Mr. Gober in your retirement. Come fish with us. You'll have a ball.
Congratulations to Dave (he said call him "Gator") & Darlene Roach,
Horn Lake, MS, for winning the BMO with a 2.46 pound Big Mama. They
caught this really good fish on a B'n'M Pole and earned $500 B'n'M Bonus
Bucks in addition to $1500 cash.
Gator and Darlene Roach shown with Jack Wells, B'n'M Poles, fished j their first tournament ever at Grenada BMO. Great job, rookies1
Dave told me that he bought the biggest minnows he could find at Tadpole's
in Hernando late Friday night, and he believes that made the difference.
Gator claimed he caught 14 white perch over 2 pounds with those
really huge minnows on Saturday.
The story goes that Ray Clary drew him a map on Friday afternoon at
registration showing him were to launch and fish. Seems Gator had never
even seen Grenada Lake before. Plus, he had a blowout on his boat trailer
on the way to the lake Saturday morning and didn't get started fishing until after 8 o'clock.
Gator's home lake is Arkabutla. And, he told me the really big fish are
biting on Arkabutla--over 3 Ibers, over 18 inches long. Man, I can't wait!!!
How bout you? PJ
Paul Johnson 601-624-0359 |
|
|
Championship Winners - September 17-18, 2011 |
1st Place
John Harrison and Kent Driscoll pulled the rabbit out of the hat on Day Two and
overcame a low Day One weight. An emotional win for these two great fishermen.
Congrats, men, on a 2-day total of 23.68 lbs. |
|
Terry Stewart & Tonya Robertson score a
very close 2nd place overall with 23.40 Ilbs. Great job, y'all. |
|
3rd Place
Ray Clary & George Walker Day One winners with 12.54 lbs finished with a 3rd place overall total of 22.90 lbs. |
|
4th Place
Defending State Champs, Bo Hudson & Brad Chappell placed 4th Overall this year. Not bad, guys, not bad at all. 22.64 lbs. |
|
5th Place
Ken Middleton & Larry Nipper were 5th Overall with 22.18 lbs. Great job for a couple of row crop farmers from the Delta. |
| Craigg Cannon / Jared Gray - 2.51lbs
| Craigg Cannon / Jared Gray - 2.15lbs
Tommy O'Keefe / Wayne Stewart - 2.15lbs
|
| |
In The Running |
| 6th - A. E. / Les Smith - 22.07lbs |
14th - Womack / Womack - 19.70lbs |
| 7th - Don Terry / Bernard Williams - 21.74lbs |
15th - Moak / Moak - 19.36lbs |
| 8th - Monty Blount / Keith Sullivan - 21.52lbs |
16th - Nathan Howell / Vic Finkley -
19.27lbs |
| 9th - Jimmy / Ricky Smith - 21.05lbs |
17th - Garrett / Horton
- 19.04lbs |
| 10th - Randy Bouchillion / Joe Lowrey - 20.02lbs |
18th - Cannon / Gray - 18.95lbs |
| 11th - Blackwell / Blackwell - 20.02lbs |
19th - Chris Criswell / Brad Taylor -
18.95lbs |
| 12th - Michael Nowell / Paula Nowell - 19.97lbs |
20th - Eli Rowell / Cole Rowell - 18.68lbs |
| 13th - Ronald / Danny Wade - 19.86lbs |
|
|
|
| Other State Championship Stats |
Other State Champ Stats
33 boats-A little disappointing that 2
of our qualified teams couldn't fish
this event due to personal conflicts or
health reason. We missed Jeffcoats / Thomas
and Lindsay/Lindsay.
We hope you boys are able to join us
at Arkabutla Oct. 22nd.
31 teams weighed 204 fish on Day
One that weighed 286.81 pounds.
That's an avg size of 1.41 lbs per fish.
28 teams weighed 190 fish on Day
Two that weighed 275.22 pounds.
That's an avg size of 1.45 lbs per fish.
Total weight 562.03 lbs
Avg size crappie @ 1.43 lbs
Opps, Tommy, after a 5th place finish
on Day One, we dropped the
ball on Day Two. I told you we
should have pulled Bandits. |
|
New
Monogrammed Shirts Available - Only $35 |
 |
 |
We've
got them in Aqua and Burnt Gold, sizes up to 2XL. The shirts are customized
by Embroidery Design. They are embroidered with your name and the club logo.
We also have three (3) new cap designs for the new season. Contact Shelton
Culpepper (601) 764-8168 for ordering. |
|
|
