Fresh off the Table Rock division kickoff the previous weekend, 47 teams convened at Ahoy’s anticipating a fast start to the Antique Division. After a frigid beginning to the event, the remainder of the tournament day turned out nice for the anglers, and based on the results, the fishing wasn’t bad either! 24 limits were brought to the scales, with teams averaging over 9.5 pounds each, resulting in valuable qualifying points for the Joe Bass Invitational to be held Stockton Lake next fall.
Larry Walker and Justin McCelland took top honors by dropping a 20.78 pound bag on the scales. Justin explained their Maybee Insurance/Smith Electric Key to Success centered on a 4” Big Bite Baits Jerk Minnow. Wind helped their bite, necessitating a “chase the wind” pattern to secure the victory in the season opener.
Shane and Tom Harms nabbed the second place spot. Their 18.81 pound stringer fell to an umbrella rig cranked between Aunt’s Creek and Baxter. They noted that structure was key but wind didn’t seem to matter. They worked through a methodical day, boating 8 keepers scattered throughout the event.
Cody and Doug Ellison rounded out the top three with a strong 18.55 limit. They battled through a slow morning with the majority of their bites coming midday. They relied on their FSS to work a Rapala Jigging Rap 12-15’ down over deeper water.
Richard Beeson and Scott Meyer proved that if you’re only going to weigh in a couple of fish, it doesn’t hurt if one of them is the NAPA Big Bass of the event. Richard and Scott put a 5.95 pound lunker in their Skeeter to take the big fish prize. The brute hit a jerkbait on their 2nd cast of the day.
Proving it pays to run a Skeeter, Slade Wilson and Joey Penzo wrangled the Top Skeeter honors for the event. Their 18.13 bag landed them in 4th place overall while they fished from their 2022 Skeeter bass boat.
Special thanks to Taylor Grubaugh Chevrolet, Buick & GMC in West Plains for sponsoring the live release boat.
The second event of the Antique Division will be April 12 with a 6:30 takeoff from Ahoy’s.
Photos
Results
| Place | Team Members | Fish | B/F | TotWgt | Pts | Payout |
| 1 | Larry Walker – Justin McCelland | 5 | 5.47 | 20.78 | 220 | $2,420.00 |
| 2 | Shane Harms – Tom Harms | 5 | 4.95 | 18.81 | 219 | $1,250.00 |
| 3 | Cody Ellison – Doug Ellison | 5 | 5.55 | 18.55 | 218 | $1,160.00 |
| 4 | Slade Wilson – Joey Penzo | 5 | 5.16 | 18.13 | 217 | $950.00 |
| 5 | *Brad Heavin – Shawn Freeman | 5 | 4.62 | 16.92 | 216 | $490.00 |
| 6 | John Williams – Ed Larson | 5 | 4.44 | 16.6 | 215 | $400.00 |
| 7 | Jay Oliver – Aaron Hodge | 5 | 5.36 | 15.44 | 214 | $312.00 |
| 8 | Rodney Bowersox – Jamie Robinson | 5 | 5.12 | 15.29 | 213 | $210.00 |
| 9 | Kelly Jones – Roger Satterfield | 5 | 5.51 | 14.57 | 212 | $110.00 |
| 10 | Aaron Stanphill – Jeff Cook | 5 | 13.69 | 211 | ||
| 11 | Mike Smith – Kavan Maybee | 5 | 13.66 | 210 | ||
| 12 | Tim Fisher – Aaron Fisher | 5 | 4.28 | 13.58 | 209 | |
| 13 | Paul Angelakos – Justin Brand | 5 | 13.58 | 208 | ||
| 14 | James Brown – John Campbell | 5 | 2.89 | 13.37 | 207 | |
| 15 | Jeff Farquhar – Gary Hazell | 5 | 13.27 | 206 | ||
| 16 | Mike Gold – Greg Wood | 5 | 3.89 | 13.04 | 205 | |
| 17 | Rich Gamble – Jacci Gamble | 5 | 3.38 | 13.03 | 204 | |
| 18 | Mark Billings – Jim Martin | 5 | 5.12 | 12.96 | 203 | |
| 19 | Terry Hutchison – Jason Coley | 5 | 12.57 | 202 | ||
| 20 | Chad Morgenthaler – Dave Mansue | 5 | 12.53 | 201 | ||
| 21 | Brett Rider – Steve Rider | 5 | 12.51 | 200 | ||
| 22 | Jeff Epley – Kelly Greer | 4 | 5.41 | 12 | 199 | |
| 23 | Jack Stack – Dick Moger | 5 | 11.45 | 198 | ||
| 24 | Shawn Crabtree – Theresa Patterson | 4 | 11.2 | 197 | ||
| 25 | Larry Seger – Sam Harkey | 5 | 11.09 | 196 | ||
| 26 | Sam Smith – Steve Lackey | 4 | 10.7 | 195 | ||
| 27 | Greg Snider – Tim Lane | 5 | 10.36 | 194 | ||
| 28 | David Mulkey – Leonard DeClue | 4 | 10.34 | 193 | ||
| 29 | Mason Nall – Rick Carpenter | 4 | 10.23 | 192 | ||
| 30 | *Heath Hula – Ed Hula | 4 | 3.55 | 9.67 | 191 | |
| 31 | Mark Thompson – Luke Thompson | 4 | 8.81 | 190 | ||
| 32 | Richard Beeson – Scott Meyer | 2 | 5.95 | 8 | 189 | $280.00 |
| 33 | Jeff Fletcher – Randall Hutson | 3 | 7.87 | 188 | ||
| 34 | Shane Boyd – Douglas Nickle | 2 | 5.49 | 7.23 | 187 | |
| 35 | Kevin Jackson – *Pat Brewer | 3 | 6.65 | 186 | ||
| 36 | Ken Gross – Randy Lyman | 1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 185 | |
| 37 | Brit Phillips – Jim Troncin | 1 | 2.66 | 2.66 | 184 | |
| 38 | Darrell Barlow – Mike Edwards | 0 | 20 | |||
| Bill Brewer – Bruce Rought | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Jim Dopp – Harlin Husky | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Dan Hankinson – Keith Hankinson | 0 | 20 | ||||
| John Huffman – Robert Waggoner | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Jason Jenkins – *Fished Alone | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Marvin Kinyon – Boyce Smallwood | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Shane Mooneyham – Rusty Darnell | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Eugene Robinett – Joe Bill Peters | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Rick Wilson – Brad Weiss | 0 | 20 |
*alternate