Great bass catches continue

Eric Evans, right, gets help from tournament director Brent Crawford holding up his winning catch!

Lake D’Arbonne continues to give up some great catches of largemouth bass this spring. One of the best was made by Eric Evans of West Monroe, who stepped to the weigh-in stage of the Fishers of Men team tournament Saturday with five fish weighing 18.46 pounds, Evans was victorious in capturing 1st place and a payout of nearly $3,000. He spent the day sight fishing for spawning bass and was successful in coaxing eight fish to bite the jig he was pitching onto the beds.

The team of Tom and Andy Stinson of Ruston & Bossier City almost missed the weigh-in because of dead batteries, but were assisted by another angler and got back in with their catch totaling 17.33 pounds for second. They fished lizards in shallow grass.  For their 2nd place finish, the anglers earned a payout of $948.

The 3rd place team of Ivan Daigs and Sontus Mitchell boated 16 fish on Rat-L-Traps and lizards in

Todd & Andy Stinson

shallow grass, the five largest of which weighed 16.69 pounds and produced earnings of $639. Other money winners in the tournament included: 4th place—Scott Smith and Stacy Boggs (5 fish, 15.93 pounds), 5th place—Eugene and Shane Morris (5 fish, 15.47 pounds), 6th place—Kenny and Courtney Harris (5 fish, 15.28 pounds), 7th place—Jarod and Rod Brantley (5 fish, 14.59 pounds), 8th place—Nicholas Young and Colby Duke (5 fish, 14.00 pounds) and “just out of the money” consolation prize—Todd and Steve Adams (5 fish, 13.81 pounds).  The Adams’ were also winners of the big bass prize for the 6.35 pounder caught by Todd, of West Monroe, on a Baby Paca Craw.

Todd Adams with the day’s big bass

To show that the Fishers of Men aren’t just interested in fishes, consider this. On the Friday night prior to the tournament, a crowd of nearly 100 anglers, tournament staff and family members gathered at the North Louisiana Exhibition Center for a meal provided by First West Fairbanks. Guest speaker for the pre-tournament meeting was Kevin Manning.  At the conclusion of Kevin’s inspiring message, two anglers rededicated their lives to Christ.

With three of the five tournaments of the season complete, the race for the points championship (the winner of which receives a cash payout as well as an automatic berth to the national championship) is beginning to take shape.  Currently, reigning champions Kenny and Courtney Harris are leading the race, followed by Jarod and Rod Brantley in 2nd and the team of Mark Price and Martin Elshout in 3rd.  The North Central Louisiana Fishers of Men division will hold the next tournament on Saturday, May 4 on the Ouachita River.  For information on either of the tournaments, log on to the website at http://www.fomntt.com or contact Tournament Director Brent Crawford: (318) 548-4196 or brentwade@aol.com.

The Fishers of Men would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fine national sponsors that make Fishers of Men possible: Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Stren, Pflueger, Strike King Lure Company, Nester Hosiery, Marshall’s Marine, Kings Home, Lowrance Electronics, Power-Pole, Duckett Fishing, Buckeye Lures, Keelshield, Solar Bat, Jacobs Glass, and Rejuvenade, Berkley, and Hydrowave. The North Central Louisiana Division would like to thank our local sponsors that were instrumental in bringing the Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail to local anglers: Ludwig Brothers Marine; Community Trust Bank; Crawford Financial; McMillan Painting; Honey Hole Tackle Shop; Brown’s Landing; Farmerville Motors; Southern Steel Fabricators; McKinney Honda; KXKZ-107.5; James Davis Construction; First National Bank; Sherwin-Williams; Ponchatoulas; PriceRight Apothecary Plus; Ruston Glass & Mirror; and Radian L. Hennigan, CPA.