Ardmore, OK – On May 6th the Charger Fisherman’s Choice, LLC held their third tournament of the season. Located just south of Ardmore, Lake Murray is one of the most picturesque impoundments in Oklahoma and offered plenty of fishable water for the 100 teams entered in this event.

With a short respite from the ever-changing Oklahoma weather, Sunday provided a small window of opportunity for the anglers vying for the guaranteed first place money. After 75 limits and a total of 420 keeper bass crossed the stage, Larry Wood and Robert Brooks stood alone on top. The Ardmore team brought in a 12.85 lb limit anchored by the big bass of the tournament at 4.36 lbs. For their day’s work, Larry and Robert took home $4,544.00 in prize money.

Just a few ounces back was the father/son team of Ronnie and Gary Cooley. Making the trip from Oklahoma City, Ronnie and his son brought five fish to the scales for a combined weight of 12.72 lbs earning them $2,290.00 on Sunday.

In third was the ever-consistent team of David Miller and Tim Reed. Reed and Miller won the Charger event on Murray last year with more than 16 pounds. However, on Sunday the duo could only manage a weight of 12.6 lbs and reluctantly settled for the third place money of $1,418.00.

Rounding out the top five were Briggs and Bishop with 11.09 and Elite Series angler, Jeff Kriet and his partner with 11.02. A total of almost 600 lbs of bass were weighed in resulting in nearly $12,000.00 of prize money being awarded. 

Once the dust had settled, the team of Scroggins and Parkinson now hold the honor of leading the point’s race with just two more regular season events left. The next Charger event is scheduled for the June 3rd on Lake Texoma.

In spite of the large numbers of bass brought to the scales, the staff at Charger Fisherman’s Choice, LLC did an outstanding job of getting everyone’s weights totaled and prizes awarded. In just over an hour after the scales opened, the competitors were on their way home in time to miss the resurgence of the rainy season.

As always, the dedicated sponsors that make this trail possible where on hand to witness the success of their generosity. A special thanks should go out to Charger Boats, Peir One Marine of Duncan, Bill’s Marine of Skiatook, Team Evinrude, Mercury and Thomas Marine of Checotah. That is just a small list of the great sponsors that help promote and support the Charger Team trail. For a complete listing and more information about this trail, go to http://www.fishermanschoicellc.com/

Go North Young Man
When you launch your boat on Lake Murray you a faced with several options in regards to where and how you can catch fish. The southern portions offer clear, deep water and an abundant supply of smallmouths. However, the smallies are usually not the size need to win this caliber of an event. The stained, shallow water along the north shore does hold the quality bass needed to win but the small area can get crowded. The hometown team of Larry Wood and Robert Brooks opted to go north.

“I found these fish earlier in the week felt like we could make at run in this tournament,” Larry said. “The bass were chasing shad in the reeds and we just followed them around.”

The team relied on a 50 yard stretch of water to catch 15 total bass with the best 5 weighing 12.85. “You would actually see the bass chasing bait,” stated Larry. “All our fish came out of water that was 2 foot deep or less.”

Father and Son Come Close
Ronnie and his son Gary brought 12.72 lbs of bass to the scales on Sunday, but fell just ounces short of the win. “My dad came down on Thursday to practice and found these fish,” the younger Cooley said. “We caught all our better fish on the north end.” 

Boating just 10 bass all day, the Nichols Marine sponsored team put together enough weight to finish second and take home almost the $2,300.00. “We ran down south just to fill our limit,” Gary said. “Once we had five, we came back to the north end a fished for a kicker bass.” The father/son team weighed a quality limit with their best fish topping the scales at 3.69 lbs.

No Repeat for Miller and Reed
Last year’s Lake Murray champs; David Miller and Tim Reed could not defend their title and finished the day in 3rd. Going against the grain, the duo fished mainly on the southern part of the lake and brought in 12.65 lbs. “We went north and caught one decent fish,” David said. “I found a spot down south on Friday and that was where the majority of our fish came from.”

Miller and Reed caught 10 keepers on Sunday and alternated between just 3 different spots. “We had a mixed bag of smallmouths and largemouths,” David claimed. “That one little spot was key for us today.”
 

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