June 11, 2006
Truman Lake, Warsaw, MO.
Russell Beck and Tim Logan are Missouri State Champions
Bass Pro Crappie Masters Team Tournament Trail brought Crappie Fever to Truman Lake on June 9 and 10th with the first ever Missouri State Crappie Championship. 206 Fishermen from 11 states converged on Truman Lake for the first day of competition and 132 made the cut for the final day of competition. Competition was intense with many weights being just ounces apart. The Bass Pro Crappie Masters State Championship was the first of its kind for Missouri. Prize money for the two days totaled more than
$42,000.00 in cash and prizes with first place being two Arctic Cat four wheelers for first place each day and trophies and plaques going to the top 10. The event hosted a banquet and entertainment for the anglers and was MC’ed by Jerry Adams of “Jerry Adams Outdoors Television and Radio Show”. Bass Pro Crappie Masters was also host to a “Jr. Crappie Masters Fishing rodeo held at Bucksaw Marina on Truman Lake.
Day one and the final leg of the Missouri State Championship brought tight lipped anglers to the podium as each were cautious about letting out fishing details with the next day being the Championship. Bass Pro Shops Wally Marshal fished the tournament and MC'ed the weigh-in.
Team Ron Boyland and Bruce Spraque took first place honors on day one with total weight of 9.19lbs. Ron used his "dinner gitter" rig to catch his fish. Second place went to John Boise and Noel Fernandez at 9.07. Second place took home cash totaling $3,000.00.
Ronnie Capps and Steve Coleman took third place and $1500.00 dollars. Capps and Coleman trolled Truman lake to take third place with their 8.91lbs, which many anglers believed couldn't be done on this lake. Fourth place weight of 8.87lbs went to David Cox and Steve Hackett and won them $1,000.00. Rounding out the top five was team Dianne Stevens and Lonnie Stevens with a total weight of 8.78 lbs. Dianne and Lonnie were also the top qualifiers for the Championship placing 1st in total weight with 22.31lbs totaled over the 3 lake event. The Steven's effort earned them $500.00 cash and a Minn Kota trolling motor.
Day one's big fish brought cheers from the crowd as Richard Kincaid and Frank Steehn won the event with a 2.76lb crappie.
Championship day led to Russell Beck and Tim Logan being named Bass Pro Crappie Masters Missouri State Champions. Their weight of 8.8 held on to take the top prize. The team stated they “used black and chartreuse jigs tipped with a minnow and we used Bobby Garland jigs. We fished 2 to 12 foot waters and the trees had to have a limb on it. We caught all our fish in one little area. We couldn’t find a pattern of the fish this time, we could go tomorrow and it would be different.”
Many anglers had the same opinion but it did not stop Lake of the Ozarks champions Jason Moppin and Gary Jones from coming in just behind the winners with a weight of 8.54lbs and taking home $3000.00. Third place went to David Cox and Steve Hackett whom had an excellent weekend finishing in the top five both days. Their weight of 8.4lbs was enough to collect $1,500.00. Fourth place and $1000.00 went to Charles Rogers and Kevin Rogers with 8.31 lbs. Kelly Whitaker and Albert Melcher rounded out the top five for Championship day with a weight of 8.2 lbs.
A 2.13 lb. crappie was enough to win big fish on championship day. Steve Rogers and Jeff Lewis earned the honors.
One national qualifying tournament remains, Sept 9 at Neely Henry Lake in Alabama before the National Championship Classic is held in October at Grenada, MS.
Local sponsors bringing this National Qualifier tournament to the area include: River's End Motel; Uncle Gabby's Motel & Cabins; Benton County Tire & Supply; Rocky Top Café; Julia Lockney of Reece & Nichols Golden Key Realty; Sedalia Outdoor Sports & Bass Pro Shop; Parkside Cabins; Bootlegger's Bait, Tackle, Liquor; Osage Valley Bank; Super 8 Motel; Trailside General Store; Bears Den; Slugger's 66; Wal-Mart of Clinton; Smokeshack Bar-B-Que; Bucksaw Resort & Marina; Roadhouse Resort, Marina, Sportsbar & Grill; Angler's Port Marine; The Woodshed; Surf-N-Turf Powersports; Warsaw Area Chamber of Commerce; Rippers Bar & Grill; Rocky Top Bait, Tackle & Archery.
National Sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops; Tracker Boats; Nitro Boats; Arctic Cat; Mercury Motors, Minn Kota; Humminbird; KeelShield; Turboset, Grizzly Jig Company; Fishergirl; RoadRunner by Blakemore; Biosonix; Bugband; Perrotibilt; Mr. Crappie; Slider; American Angler; Hydroglow; SureLife; Bagley Baits; Spike-It; Knight Rifles; Porcupine Fish Attractor, Fish Hedz; Kodiak Scents; Bobby Garland; KeepAlive; Emmrod; Stanley Wedgetail; Kastaway Kulis; Budweiser; Crappie Unlimited; MonsterCrappie.com; Lokinets; The Woodshed; Kasswinns; Kastaway Kulis.
Bass Pro CrappieMasters is a national tournament trail covering 12 states . For more information contact www.crappiemasters.net or crappiemasters@aol.com
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