BASS Federation Paris, TN

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KENTUCKY LAKE PROVES A CHALLENGE TO STATE BASS ANGLERS
(PARIS’ JOHNNY JOHNSON EARNS SECOND PLACE)
by Steve McCadams
www.stevemccadams.com

Last weekend’s Tennessee B.A.S.S. Federation State Tournament, presented by the Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, and was held October 3-5 at the Paris Landing State Park.

Actually, anglers were here in our community for over a week as many came early to practice in an attempt to learn the waters and pattern bass on the mammoth reservoir

The event was Tennessee's equivalent to the BASS Masters Classic for the pros. Some 51 teams consisting of 296 anglers from across the state competed for top honors as a team and as individuals. With a member base of over 2100 anglers, qualifying for the State Tournament was conducted in the spring with 4 tournaments held across the state. This tournament represented the best of the best for the 2002 season.

With Hurricane Lili approaching Thursday afternoon, the Tournament Officials made the decision to cancel Friday's first day of competition. With heavy rains and winds in excess of 40 mph Friday morning, it was definitely the right decision.

Anglers faced a lake that was constantly changing last week, as high lake levels were part of the picture the previous weekend due to the aftermath of Hurricane Isidore. Then, it was an insult to injury when another dose of unstable weather descended thanks to Hurricane Lili’s backwash.

On Saturday morning, 148 boats began the search under a cold front and high skis with a brisk north wind. Although the weather turned out to be pleasant, the 15-20 mph winds from the north did make some anglers change their plans.

Brett Norris of Bristol Compressors Bass Anglers bested the field with a 5 fish limit weighing 12.70 pounds, narrowly beating Johnnie Johnson of Two Rivers Bass Club of Paris by less than four ounces! Johnson finished second with a 5-fish limit weighing 12.44 pounds.

Mack Brown of Paris and also a member of the Two Rivers Bass Club had four hefty bass weighing 10.30 pounds, placing around 12 place overall.

"I started out throwing a Rat-L-Trap and a Lucky Craft top water bait until the sun got up, then moved to the channel ledges at the mouth of the creek and fished a little deeper with Zoom 10-inch worms" said Brett. " I stayed in this creek the entire day."

Bret has been a member of Bristol Compressors Bass Anglers and the Tennessee B.A.S.S. Federation for 6 years, and he has been employed at Bristol Compressors for 15 years.

Asked about his thoughts on the tournament, Bret replied " It was a wild ride, Since I was in the first of 4 flights, I really didn't expect the weight to hold up, then when it did hold up, I was really in shock, but very glad."

Lawrenceburg Bass Busters won the team championship with a total of 20-fish an a combined weight of 42.26 lbs. etching out Clarksville Bass Club who finished second with a total of 22 bass weighing 40.77 lbs.

Big fish honors went to Chattanooga’s Brad Ferguson of Tennessee Bass-N-Buddies with a 4.94 bass, and Royce Woodruff of Nashville Bass Anglers with a 4.72-pound largemouth.

Total number of participants was 296 yet only 222 weighed in a fish. There were 24 limits of 5-fish weighed in. 526 fish were weighed in with a total weight of 1011.24 lbs. The average weigh per fish was 1.92 lbs.

All in all the anglers and tournament officials took the challenge of the weather in stride and made the best of a bad situation. Weather is always a factor and even with almost 300 experienced bass anglers testing the waters of Kentucky Lake, not a bass was brought in that made the 5-pound mark!

Overall the event was a success and a great boost to the local economy during a fall week that is normally quiet in the county and lake area in terms of tourism.

A tip of the hat to the Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce for their assistance in bringing the event our community. Bass boats were everywhere last week both on the lake and around town, leaving a lot of dollars in our community coffers in their wake.

Steve McCadams
is a professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing area and host of The Outdoor Channel's television series IN-PURSUIT.

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