Douglas Lake Results: Apr 28, 2012
Event Pictures
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Douglas is hot!!!
Written by Steve Jennings
Pictures by Steve Jennings
Fishers of Men held its third tournament on Douglas Lake on May 7th. Leadvale Baptist Church was the host church for this event. This church always does a great job of making the fishermen feel welcome and they make some of the best lasagna you will ever eat. The Sexton family of White Pine Marine was the host sponsor and is always a great help to Fishers of Men. Merle Townley gave his testimony which moved most of the fishermen and we had one rededication. Thanks Merle for sharing your life with the anglers. You may never know the seed you planted with that testimony until you get to heaven.
Saturday morning came with over cast skies that later gave way to bluebird skies and light wind. With water temperatures in the 60s in the river and 70s on the lower end everyone knew it should be a great tournament. And it turned out to be an awesome tournament with all the teams that fished bringing fish to the weigh- in and almost 70 % of the field having a limit of fish that were all released alive.
Chester Wooten and Tim Vanover newcomers this year to Fishers of Men, came to the scales with 5 fish weighing in at 14.09 and included the second lunker of the tournament a 3.76 pound largemouth. This talented team, which traveled from Kentucky to fish this trail, reported running down to the mid-section of the lake to catch over 20 keepers. They reported catching a limit of fish on a crankbait early in the day. Later, as the sun got brighter, they switched to flipping a C&S jig to catch their fish in 1 to 3 feet of water. This team is sponsored by Wynn’s Apparatus and C&S jigs.
Second places went to Jeff Beach and his father-in-law, William Maggard, who also travel all the way from Kentucky to fish our trail. This seasoned team had 5 fish that hit the scales at 12.61. They also had the big fish of the tournament, a 4.37 lbs. largemouth. Jeff reported catching over 20 fish in the tournament. Jeff and William fished rocky banks staying in 8 to 10 feet of water.
Third place went to Steve Blocker and Aaron Fox with 12.57 pounds. This team ran up the lake to locate their fish while focusing on rocks with fallen trees and bluff banks. The team reported that the fish were shallow sitting in 1 to 5 feet of water.
Fourth place went to Frank Cooper and Edwin Barnwell with 12.33. Frank reported running his Yamaha powered Skeeter around the upper part of the lake to catch their fish flipping while focusing on rocks and wood to catch fish on a jig. This team is sponsored by Madisonville Marine, your local Skeeter Yamaha dealer in East Tennessee.
Fifth place went to our points leaders, Mark and Matt Heidel, with 12.02 pounds. With such talented fisherman in out trail, the points race continues to heat up with the final championship still up for grabs!
Special thanks go out to Bill Freeman, Randy White and Ameriprize for their sponsorship again this year. See these two men for all your financial needs. Also thanks to Kenny Sexton and the great staff at White Pine Marine for all their help. If you need a boat or an outboard give them a call at 865-674-2834. Thanks to Big Jim Walker for all the help. If you need a garage door give Jim a call at 865-805-8238. Also remember Dixie Custom Rods, if you need a new fishing rod or reel because he makes some of the finest rods that you will ever put in your hands. Check out his web-site www.dixiecustomrods.com.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fine companies that make Fishers of Men possible; Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Stren, Pflueger, Markel Marine Insurance, Nester Hosiery, Strike King Lure Company, Power-Pole, Marshall’s Marine, Helly Hansen, Keelshield, Spot Remover, Jacobs Glass, Solar Bat, Duckett Fishing, Berkley, and Rejuvenade.
