~~The Alabama Northeast Division arrived for the second event of the season this weekend at the world famous Lake Guntersville.  Anglers from four states gathered to search the waters for the plentiful bass.  Cooler temperatures over the last couple of weeks had many fish stalled out from the pre-spawn patterns, but recent reports were positive. This presented a difficult challenge for everyone, but before the tournament, we would all gather for the pre-tournament meeting for plentiful delicious food, wonderful fellowship, and a great message.

75 anglers and friends were welcomed by the Henryville United Methodist Church for a wonderful meal of smoked ham, green beans, and macaroni and cheese with tables filled with desserts to tempt everyone.  Following the meal, B.J. Eaton, associate church planter of the Cultivate Church in Athens, Alabama, delivered an inspiring message looking at the choices that that we have to make in life. We must choose to receive or reject Jesus Christ, and then face the consequences of that decision – either eternal life or eternal death. After the challenging message, one angler prayed to recommit his life to Christ!

33 teams blasted off at safe light in search of enough bass to claim the victory.  Saturday morning dawned cloudy and mild, but a thunderstorm soon rolled in with torrential rain for a short while. Though fishing conditions were difficult, a few teams were able to cobble together a limit, and several big bass crossed the scales.

Leading the field with a winning weight of 16.20 pounds was the father and son team of Mike and Chad Hazel. They used Carolina-rigged worms as well as jerkbaits to land a few key fish. They also landed the big bass of the day – a 6.54 lunker. The big bass was hung under some cover and struggled for close to ten minutes before coming free and surrendering to the net. Hazel and Hazel cashed in to the tune of $1,840.00, and took home two beautiful plaques.

The husband and wife team of Billy and Barbara Lawson followed their successful opening tournament with another strong showing with 16.02 pounds of bass good for second place. The Lawsons’ reported catching fish all day long using red squarebill crankbaits around shallow patches of eelgrass. They earned $755.00 on the day.

Finishing third was the team of Kent Ware and Emily Ware. Ware and Ware caught their bass extremely shallow using plastic lizards and chatterbaits. Kent stated that the bass were so shallow that they could see the mud boil when the fish would strike. They took home $537.00.

Come on out to Neely Henry Lake on April 21st and join us for the third event of the season!  Fishing should be great and good times will be available to all!  Call Joel Franks at 256-777-8729 for details.

Fishers of Men would like to thank all of our fine sponsors; BassCat Boats, Mercury, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Spiderwire, Shakespeare, Strike King Lure Company, Kings Home, Power-Pole, Raymarine, Duckett Fishing, BassBoat Technologies, ORCA Coolers, Buckeye Lures, T&H Marine, Gator Guards, Kistler Rods, HydroWave,  Costa, Jacobs Glass, Rayjus Sportswear

Please support our local sponsors that help the Alabama Northeast Division:

Brown’s Outboards, www.brownsboats.com
Coon Creek Custom Baits, @cooncreekcustombaits on Facebook
Fishidy, search “Fishidy” at the App Store on your smartphone
L&M Custom Bass Snacks, (606) 875-0724
MVD Motor Vibration Dampers, www.bowjax.com

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	3808	Mike Hazel Chad Hazel	5	6.54	16.2	0	16.2	200
2	14540	Billy Lawson Barbara Lawson	5	0	16.02	0	16.02	199
3	22797	Emily Ware Kent Ware	5	4.38	14.29	0	14.29	198
4	19037	George Crain Allan Glasgow	3	6.18	12.16	0	12.16	197
5	21221	Chris Baldus Josh Faile	5	0	11.62	0	11.62	196
6	18913	Brad Carroll Edward Looper Jr	3	6.16	10.09	0	10.09	195
7	22796	Brian King David King	3	0	9.64	0	9.64	194
8	22862	Tim Van Polen Clay Wilcox	3	0	9.59	0	9.59	378
9	6287	Greg Norris Jay Bucki	3	4	9.46	0	9.46	192
10	22647	Mark Lovvorn Warren Lovvorn	5	0	9.15	0	9.15	191
11	22644	Kenneth Bean Alvin Parrish	2	6.3	8.4	0	8.4	140
12	21603	Steve Wilson Hank Hayes	2	4.41	7.26	0	7.26	189
13	21260	Andy Laurance Robert Slaton	3	0	7.21	0	7.21	188
14	21765	Billy Brooks Chad Fenton	3	0	6.99	0	6.99	187
15	22640	Alan Davis Todd Davis	2	0	6.2	0	6.2	186
16	10604	Barry Johnson Dale Greer	3	0	5.82	0	5.82	185
17	8528	Mark Junior Gary Horne	2	0	5.23	0	5.23	184
18	11889	Ron Holler Elaine Holler	2	0	5.2	0	5.2	183
19	11893	Albert Lovvorn Randy Gravett	2	0	5.19	0	5.19	182
20	22641	Donna Lynn Spenser Lynn	2	0	5.05	0	5.05	181
21	22642	Larry Melvin Hank Winks	1	3.62	3.62	0	3.62	180
22	22639	Chris Blackwood Sean Terrell	2	0	3.59	0	3.59	179
23	16275	Robert McEarchern Richard McEarchern	1	3.06	3.06	0	3.06	178
24	22648	Chet Borden Shannon Rich	1	2.62	2.62	0	2.62	177
25	22592	Dennis Horne Mike Watson	1	2.23	2.23	0	2.23	176
26	22593	Rodney Floyd Tim Moore	1	1.85	1.85	0	1.85	175
27	22591	Cody Benton Harris Housley	1	1.83	1.83	0	1.83	174
28	19030	Waylon Hill	1	3.78	3.78	2	1.78	173
29	22590	Johnny Barrow Karl Stephens	1	1.77	1.77	0	1.77	172
30	21781	Mark Scott Ross Williams	0	0	0	0	0	171
31	22594	Dale Aldridge Lee Hill	0	0	0	0	0	171
32	22795	Jackson Burgreen Richard Burgreen	0	0	0	0	0	171
33	21020	Shane Bryson Brandon Johnson	0	0	0	0	0	171
Hazel & Hazel - 16.20 lbs Lawson & Lawson - 16.02 lbs. Ware & Ware - 14.29 lbs Craine & Glasgow - 12.16 lbs