Hadley, Nolan rally to win TC
By PATTY LENDERMAN Lakecaster Managing Editor

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman TOM NOLAN AND LINDY HADLY show part of their 20.71 day two limit that launched them into a 1st place win with 31.40 lbs. Lindy is also holding the 7.33 lb bass that won day two Big Bass honors.

The Tournament of Champions is a team event put on by Champion boats in appreciation to everyone who owns one of their products. This is an annual two day event, and 106 teams signed up Oct. 20-21 at the Umphrey Family Pavilion on Sam Rayburn. Along with the payout, one lucky team would also win a Champion 188 powered by a Mercury 200 Optimax valued at $34,900.

There was a mix of seasoned tournament anglers and weekend warriors competing. With cold weather marching in from the north just days away, the wind kept some teams fighting to hold their spots, and others looking for calmer water. Dave Concienne of Bass N Bucks officiated the weigh in.

The first day of the tournament indicated a tough bite for most teams. Weights were predominantly low, keeping the majority of the field evenly matched going into day two. Big bass was paid each day, and James Wilkins brought in the 7.28 pound winning day one big bass. "It is the biggest I've ever caught!" exclaimed Wilkins.

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman JAMES WILKINS caught the 7.28 lb Big Bass on Saturday.

The top three teams at the end of day one were: Mack Rose and Brandon Crouch (20.83 lbs.), James Wilkins and Dave Nichols (18.01 lbs.) and Jason Wells and Vic Cooper (15.46 lbs.).

The weigh in started at 2 p.m. Sunday with the final catches. Better sacks were coming in, and nearly everyone weighed in heavier sacks than they did the day before. The rankings shifted with each bag of bass brought in.

Jason Wells and Vic Cooper brought in their sack bringing their two day total to 29.15 lbs., momentarily taking first place. The top two teams from day one had not yet weighed. Dave Nichols and James Wilkins, in second on day 1 fell just behind Wells and Cooper with a final weight of 28.34 lbs. When Brandon Crouch and Mack Rose, leaders from day one brought in their limit they nosed back into the lead by just over a pound with at 30.45 lb. limit.

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman MACK ROSE AND BRANDON CROUCH led the pack on day one, finishing in 2nd place on Sunday with a total of 30.45 lbs.

More teams brought their fish in, some finishing in higher positions, some falling. At the very end of the weigh in, Lindy Hadley and Tom Nolan double fisted their sack of fish to bring it up the hill to the scales.

They only had 10.59 lbs. on the first day and were sitting in 25th place, but had a hefty sack to make up the difference. The first bass weighed in at 7.33 lbs., winning big bass for day two. When they added the rest of their limit, the scales went to 20.71 lbs., giving them a 31.30 lb. total to win the tournament!

"We found our fish in practice on Thursday" Lindy explained. "We were fishing mid lake flats, about 6'-10' deep with scattered grass." They were using hand painted Yozuri rattle traps. "We only fished two spots, and kept to the same places and patterns both days. The bigger bass didn't feed on Saturday, but came through for us Sunday. We caught the same number of fish both days. I think our American Rodsmiths crankbait rods made a real big difference. They are very sensitive, and you can feel the strikes in the grass. I got a real appreciation for my Champion boat, too. It handled the rough water very well and got us safely back to the weigh in." Champion Boats presented them with the first place check for $3,800, a big bass check for $525, a $500 rebate from Mercury and a Lowrance 480 unit.

Brandon Crouch and Mack Rose won second place with 30.45 lbs., and a check for $2,000 and a $500 Mercury rebate. "It was a great weekend" Mack said.

"The fish were scattered, but we caught them on clay humps with green pumpkin Carolina rigged trick worms. We each caught six pound kickers the first day, and we are tickled to win second place. This is a good tournament and we really enjoyed fishing it." Mack praised his partner Brandon for being a great fishing partner.

Jason Wells and Vic Cooper retained their third place position till the end. Winning with 29.15 total pounds, Jason reported catching their fish with a Bomber Fat Free Shad.

"We did a lot of running and gunning, but found most of our fish in the mid lake area on main lake ridges in 10-12'. We caught limits early both days and were able to cull up to better weights."

Thirteen places were paid, with Rick Dorsett and Linnis Gibbons seizing the last check with a total of 23.91 lbs.

Then it was time to find the boat winner. Dave Barnett of Champion Boats said to the crowd "let's play a little game. I've got 25 envelopes, and 19 of them will win you a hat.

Four of them will tell you to have a seat. One of them will win this Champion 188 with a 200 Mercury Optimax for $34,900."

He called five team numbers, and each of them came to draw an envelope. As each one opened their envelope to find they did not win the boat, one more team was called each time to keep five teams at play. One by one they took their new hat, took their seats, until finally there were only five remaining. Brandon Crouch opened the winning envelope to claim his new boat!

Don Wood, President of Champion Boats presented their prize along with Scott Jordan of Jordan's Marine.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming out and fishing with us" stated Barnett. "Thank you for choosing Champion!" Nichols Marine from Longview, TX, Jordan's Marine from Vidor, TX and Bowie Marine from Decatur, TX all brought display boats for everyone to check out the latest that Champion has to offer. Many nice door prizes were also given away.

Champion hosts several Champion Owner's tournaments throughout the country. For more information, write to Champion Boats, Attn: Owners Tournament Dept., 880 TN 37127.