SBCC Tournament May 30

[Jay]

The Striped Bass Conservation Coalition has a Lake Thurmond tournament this Saturday. For more information visit: http://www.stripedbasscc.org/2009_Tournament_Programs.html.

[Jay]

Results are in... They caught some monsters!
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2-fish Team Tournament

1st Place, 68.45-pounds, Team Fishers-of-Men, Captain Mike Green, Huntersville, NC, total winnings of $2000

2nd Place, 41.67-pounds, Team Litl-Moments, Crawfordville, GA, total winnings of $650

3rd Place, 37.98-pounds, Team Mac-Mac, Captain Otho McLaughlin, Greer, SC, total winnings of $350

4th Place, 36.58, Team Bait Head, Captain Rob Hedrick, Charlotte, NC, total winnings of $300


Big-Striper Tournament

1st Place, 37.65-pounds, Team Fishers-of-Men, Captain Mike Green, Huntersville, NC, $400

2nd Place, 30.05, Team Bait Head, Captain Rob Hedrick, Charlotte, NC, $300

3rd Place, 22.11-pounds, Team Litl-Moments, Crawfordville, GA, $150

4th Place, 21.77-pounds, Team Mac-Mac, Captain Otho McLaughlin, Greer, SC, $50

*NOTE, Team Fishers-of-Men, Captain Mike Green, had a 30.81-pounder that did not qualify because they only purchased 1-Big Fish Ticket


Mike Green and team Fishers-of-Men took the SBCC (Striped Bass Conservation) and CAST (Christian Anglers Striper Trail) win and big fish honors taking home over $2,000 in cash and prizes at the SBCC’s final "point's" tournament of the 2009 tournament year on May 30th at Clarks Hill Lake, and big fish were bountiful.

Four time Team-of-the Year Champion (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007) Team Fishers-of-Men, fishing out of their Key West center console, dominated the tournament weigh in and delighted the crown of contestants and spectators at Dorn Fishing Facility in McCormick SC, by weighing in a 2-fish total weight of 68.45 pounds with the tournament big fish of 37.65 pounds and a second fish that weighed 30.81-pounds. Both were alive and returned to the lake for others to enjoy later. As a matter of fact, 3 of the largest 4 fish weighed in were alive and returned to the water by the anglers that caught them, including team Mac Mac’s 21.77 pounder which took the prize of 4th big fish of the tournament. “We were fishing some big gizzard shad on planer boards and saw a big fish in some bait”, said team Fishers-of-Men Captain Mike Green. “I took a blueback herring and tossed it out on some very light line and it swam down into the bait the big fish nailed it”. Team Fishers-of-Men pulled baits on freelines and planer boards all day. They found that by mixing up their presentation and offering the fish herring along with both small and large gizzard shad, they got the combination of bites needed to win the tournament while fishing amongst a fleet of other strong contestants including the 2008 Team-of-the-Year team Hooked Up., the 2008 Championship runner-up Team Rocky, and the 2004 National Champion’s team Striper Nailer.

Taking the tournament 2nd place prize, and securing the SBCC 2009 Team-of the-Year honors was team Litl-Moments with a 2-fish total weight of 41.67-pounds including a 22.11-pound striped bass and a 19.55-pound striped bass. Lil-Moments also won the CAST 5-fish tournament with a total weight of 98.08-pounds (averaging 19.62-pounds each). Team Litl-Moments took a different approach by cut-bait fishing in a more secluded area of the lake. Their bite (6-bites and 6-fish) was spread out from late morning to early afternoon. Brother-brother team Mac-Mac (Otho and Rex McLaughlin) took 3rd place with a 2-fish weight of 37.98-pounds. They also anchored the boat and cut bait fished with blueback herring. Their bite was fast and furious until about 9:00 AM when things just shut down. They had several big fish to take them in the trees including a huge one that hit just before they caught their 21.77 pounder. “We were fishing near the trees and knew some big fish would get into them if we didn’t get them up fast”, stated team Captain Otho. “Thankfully my brother Rex caught the fish because mine got into the trees”. Joseph Robb (8-yrs old) of Team Litl-Moments took the Youth-Angler-of-the-Tournament. And, Caroline Hammond (8-yrs old) and her guest fishing on Team Hanna-Montana won the Female Angler-of-the-Tournament and an over-all 6th place finish with a 2-fish weight of 26.28-pounds. Taking 4th place with a 2-fish total of 36.58-pounds was Team Bait Head, captained by Rob Hedrick fishing with his father David. They had the3rd largest fish of the tournament at 30.02-pounds, but thanks to the fact that Mike Green only bought one $25 ticket to the Big Fish Tournament; Team Bait Head received the $300 prize for 2nd Big Fish.

The SBCC and CAST were proud to have Mike Green give his testimony as the final weights were confirmed and scores tallied. The SBCC and CAST are family friendly Christian based organizations. SBCC focuses on conservation of the striped bass and encourages Responsible Catch-and-Release whenever possible and extended from the NSBA of America which organized in 2001. CAST started in 2008 and conducts family friendly tournaments on Lakes Murray and Clarks Hill on the last Saturday of the month. They hold a praise and registration meeting and meal on Friday night before each tournament as well as a Lake Side Praise service after their weigh-in.

For more information on the SBCC and CAST, contact Warren Turner at 864-915-5348, or SCStriper1@aol.com.