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Southwest
Region - Oklahoma |
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APPLE
AND ATWELL WIN CHARGER TEAM EVENT AT EUFAULA |
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19.83
Gets the Team's Second Win of the Season |
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Eufaula, OK – April 1st, a day of trickery, of shenanigans, a day when people feel the desire to fool their fellow man, Sunday also meant something special to the serious angler. This year it also coincided with a strong warming trend and the full moon. For fishermen it marked a perfect day to be on the water for the Charger Fisherman’s Choice, LLC second tournament of the 2007.
Under a full moon and on top of water that ranged in temperature from 60 to almost 70 degrees, 130 teams, nearly 260 anglers awaited Kevin Harrell’s signal that it was their turn to take off from Eufaula Cove.
With eight hours to test their skills against fellow competitors and the sometimes tricky fish of Oklahoma, this group of guys and gals proved that spring was definitely in the air.
When the weigh in was complete, 53 limits of bass had crossed the stage including 6 bass that weighed more than six pounds and 12 that passed the 5 pound mark. After all was said and done it was the team from Broken Arrow that took top prize with a total weight of 19.83. Kevin Apple and Sean Atwell took home first and a paycheck in the amount of $4,308.00
Coming in second was the team of Clinton and Mathews with a five fish limit totaling 18.12. For their efforts on Sunday, they pocketed $2,642.00. In third was a pair of heavy weights on the Charger Trail, Gene Robertson and Don McFarlin. Gene and Don brought in 17.25 pounds and claim the third place money of $1,615.00. Rounding out the top five were Price and Warren with 17.04 and Reeves and Kaus with 16.98.
The Charger Fisherman’s Choice, LLC tournament paid out a total of $14,160.00 in prize money along with several door prizes consisting of tackle and boat products. All in all, April 1st marked another successful outing for anglers thanks to the bass of Eufaula and the staff at Charger.
Practice Pays Off
Making the trip from Broken Arrow to Lake Eufaula, Kevin Apple and Sean Atwell had it in their minds to just practice for an upcoming tournament. However, the two decide to enter the Charger event and as a result left the lake several thousand dollars richer. “We have a TBA tournament here next weekend,” said Kevin. “We decided since we where here to go ahead and fish this tournament.”
That decision resulted in almost 20 pounds being brought to the scales and $4, 308.00 heading back to Broken Arrow. In spite of the near perfect spawning conditions, the duo focused on long stretches of bank and threw a Bill Norman crankbait. “We caught 7 keepers today,” Kevin said. “We cover a lot of water and stuck almost exclusively to the crankbait.” Sponsored by Norman Lures, Lowrance and Land Rover Tulsa, Kevin nd Sean pledged to fish the remaining Charger events. “We need to learn a little more about Texoma and Murray, but yes we will be there.”
The BASS ZONE and Charger Fisherman’s Choice, LLC would like to thank the team of Clinton and Mathews for taking time to do an interview and share their thoughts on this event. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties their comments were lost. Hopefully, we will be able to share their thoughts with the viewers at the next event.
No Practice Also Works
The team of Gene Robertson and Don McFarlin didn’t get an opportunity to practice much for this event, but they put together a strong showing on Sunday with a total weight of 17.25. Former winners on the Charger Trail, Don and Gene showed they can catch fish away from their home lake of Texoma. “We probably caught three limits of fish today,” they said. “All the fish we found were shallow.”
The pair stayed in one area and caught fish most of the day. “The water we were in stayed pretty clear even after all the rain that fell last week,” the team sponsored by Jimmy Houston Marine said. “These fish were moving up and getting ready to spawn.” The pair didn’t earn the $5,000.00 like they did at last year’s Texoma event, but they did walk away with $1,615.00 in earnings.
Heartbreak at Gators
The local establishment at Eufaula cove known as Gators provides a perfect spot for tournament anglers to wait for the final results to be posted. Fine food and the beverage of your choice helps to pass the time and in the case of Justin Price and Wes Warren it alleviates some of the pains of tournament fishing. The pair from Harrah came to scales early and posted the top weight of 17.04 along with a big bass contender weighing in at 6.41 pounds. As the weigh in progressed, both Wes and Justin could only watch as they were replaced at the top of the leader board and their big fish fell to a Lake Eufaula trophy smallmouth that bottomed the scales at 6.56 pounds.
“We caught the big one at 8:00 this morning,” they said. “We culled twice in the morning and that was basically it.” Sponsored by Westco Mechanical, this team finished their first Charger tournament of the year in fourth. “We were targeting bedding bass,” they said. “We actually caught a five-pounder yesterday and went back and got her to bite today.”
As always, Kevin and Bob Harrell, along with the entire Charger staff hosted a great tournament. Their next stop will be at Lake Murray on the 6th of May. Like all the events, first place at Murray will pay a minimum of $3,000.00 and increase as the numbers of entries grows. For a look at all the results and a list of the sponsors that make this trail happen click here, http://www.fishermanschoicellc.com/
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