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2008 Season Champions Lonnie Bowlin and
Ron Johnson
U.S. Angler’s Choice
Region 3 Tournament of Champions was held March 4th thru the 7th on
famed Lake Guntersville, the home of Giant Largemouth Bass. At full
pool Lake Guntersville stretches 75 miles from Nickajack Dam to
Guntersville Dam, covers 69,100 surface acres and boasts 900 miles of
beautiful shoreline. This would be the stage in which over 160 teams
would compete, all looking for that winning pattern or area that lend
enough weight to take home one of three Legend Boats rigged with
Mercury Outboards.
The event was hosted by Jackson County Tourism and official lodging
sites for the event were the Comfort Inn and Comfort Inn and Suites in
Scottsboro, Alabama. Scottsboro offered teams and families plenty of
entertainment while not on the water and some fantastic places to
dine. The people living in the Scottsboro community are some of the
friendliest you will find anywhere in the country.
 Teams
gathered Thursday for a first class banquet followed up with a short
meeting held at the Scottsboro Goose Pond Civic Center. Southern
hospitality was in full force as teams were treated to a fantastic
dinner consisting of Southern fried chicken, Pork Chops, country green
beans, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, hot rolls and plenty of
deserts to top it off.
Following the dinner of and for champions a brief review of the water
and event specific rules were covered. Teams were officially welcomed
to the community and lake by J.P. Parsons from Jackson County Tourism
and the Mayor of Scottsboro Melton Potter. Legend Boats representative
Cindy Van Horn congratulated the attendees on their qualification and
welcomed all in attendance. The evening was then finalized by
recognizing each of the divisional anglers of the year teams and
awarding plaques for their accomplishments.
Leading up to the competition teams were dealt with rapidly changing
conditions. A cold front had passed through the area Sunday leaving
behind freezing temperatures and even some short lived snowfall. This
front dropped water temps five to ten degrees in some cases and had
fish moving. By Wednesday the temperatures were back on the rise and
water temps slowly started to climb.
As teams took off on the first day of competition they found a nearly
perfect day with take off temperatures around fifty degrees and
warming up to the mid seventies. The weigh-in started at 3pm and it
would soon be evident why Angler’s Choice teams have gained the
reputation of being the best of the best. Even with the unstable
conditions leading up to the event 138 teams would bring fish to the
scales and the top 33 teams would weigh bags of over 20lbs on this
day.
When the scales closed after day one the Smithland Pool team of Jim
Hammersly and Kerry Betz found themselves on top the leader board with
a five fish limit that saw the scales reach a whopping 31.61lbs. They
had a nearly five pound lead on the second place team of Chad Kerr and
Quinton Ingram fishing out of the Mississippi Pool 19 division. Chad
and Quinton however would claim Big Bass honors on this day with a
9.70 Guntersville beauty.
Day two started off somewhat overcast but the temps were still rising
and the fish were still moving. Teams would have to continue to adjust
to stay on top or make a move up the leader board. Day two would see
big changes in weights; while some would drop others would put
themselves right in the mix and with total weights near fifty pounds
over two days the top teams would find themselves separated by only
ounces making for an exciting conclusion to an awesome event.
Minutes after the last bag was weighed the results were in. The
Southern Illinois Choice division team of Lonnie Bowlin and Ron
Johnson would narrowly take the win and were crowned Region 3
Champions. The team brought consistent heavy bags to the scales. On
day one they weighed in 24.93lbs and followed it up on day two with
24.90lbs giving them a two day total of 49.83lbs and the win. The team
reported having a tough practice but located a flat with grass and
shad on it just prior to competition that produced some quality fish.
On day one the team caught the majority of their fish on rattle traps
and had their fish within two hours in the morning. Day two would be
no different as the fish bit early as they ran Chrome and Black traps
over the four foot flat. For the win the team takes home a certificate
for a new fully rigged Legend Alpha 211 with a Mercury 225 Opti Max.
2nd Place Kerry Betz and Jim Hammersly
Coming in second place and
missing the win by just over a pound was the Smithland Pool Team of
Kerry Betz and Jim Hammersly. On day one the team weighed in the big
stringer of the tournament, a five fish limit of 31.61 lbs but on day
two struggled somewhat by Guntersville standards with a five fish
limit of 17.04 lbs giving them a total weight of 48.65 lbs. The team
reported catching their fish on traps and swimbaits worked under balls
of shad in the mouth of creeks. The depth the team was fishing was
approximately ten feet of water. For the second place position the
team wins a new fully rigged Legend Alpha 199 with a Mercury 200 Opti
Max
3rd Place Steve Majewski and Jeff Gee
Taking the third place
position was the Pool 13 team of Jeff Gee and Steve Majewski. They
brought 5 fish to the scales on day one weighing 22.26 lbs and
followed it up on day two with a limit weighing 23.74 lbs. giving them
a two day total of 46 lbs. even. That was just .05 behind the second
place team. The team fished grass in the 4 to 8 foot range near the
mouths of creeks and through rattle baits 100% of the time. They are
sponsored by Champion boats, Bobs Marine and Falcon Rods. The team
wins a new fully rigged Legend LE 195 with a Mercury 150 Opti Max
Coming in fourth place was the Southern Illinois team of Tommy Burns
and Darren Frazier. They weighed in a five fish limit on day one
seeing the scales reach 20.25 lbs. and bested that weight on day two
bringing five fish to the scales weighing in at 25.26 lbs lbs. The
team earned checks totaling $3,640.00
Tournament Notables:
861 fish were brought to the scales with a 100% live release. No lost
fish!
Total weight of all fish 3,144 lbs
Avg. size bass= 3.65 lbs
Day 1 big bag: Kerry Betz and Jim Hammersly 31.61 lbs.
Day 2 big bag: Jeff Fulkerson and Lance Ricketts 28.84 lbs.
Day 1 big bass: Chad Kerr and Quinton Ingram 9.70 lbs.
Day 2 big bass: Mark Wiese and Jay Hulsey 7.87 lbs.
This was an awesome event for all who attended! If you were unable to
fish this season or make it to the championship come join us in 2009!
Call 618-496-3610 for a trail near you. |
