By Sam Scroggins

(Oct.4, 2010 - Lake Fork, TX)...The Third Annual Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association Crappie Tournament was held this past weekend at the Minnow Bucket Marina on Lake Fork. The two-day competition attracted crappie enthusiasts from across Texas to vie for over $7500 in prize money. A Youth Division was provided for anglers age 17 and under, and separate daily bonuses were paid for big fish and the top lady anglers.

With its unique format, all anglers participated in the first day of competition (Saturday) with $3000 of the $7500 guaranteed payout at stake. Optionally, the contestants could compete on the second day (Sunday) for the remaining $4500 in payout. Anglers were permitted to bring six crappies to the scales each day. For the two-day competition, the weights of the first and second day were combined to determine the overall winner.

Blessed with near-perfect weather on Saturday, Paul O’Bier of Gunter used a combination of minnows and jigs to amass 11.22 pounds with the 6-crappie tournament limit. His stringer was anchored by a hefty 2.12 pounder. Paul’s nearest competitor was Cody Tucker of Aubrey with 9.57 pounds. Cody was followed closely by Jason Townsend of Canton with 9.50 pounds and Roger Putman of Lone Oak with 9.35 pounds. Teenager Dillon Gossett of Emory took fifth place overall as well as leading the Youth Division with 9.10 pounds. Rounding out the top 6 was Larry Johnson of Rowlett with 9.06 pounds. Other large crappie caught on the first day were a 2.10 pounder caught by Sean Gossett of Emory and 2.09 pounders caught by both Roger Putman and Jay Don Reeve of Gun Barrel City.

Weather conditions changed substantially on Saturday night as a front brought strong north winds and very cool temperatures on Sunday. In spite of the changing conditions, O’Bier’s pattern held and allowed him to weigh a solid 10.79 pounds. This easily gave him the two day tournament win with a total of 22.01 pounds, almost 3 pounds more than his event winning weight in 2009.

Bob McAffrey of Killeen had the largest second-day stringer with 11.81 pounds. This propelled him from twentieth place on day 1 all the way to second place with a two-day total of 18.96 pounds. This nudged Cody Tucker from second to third with 18.56 pounds. Sean Gossett of Emory moved from eighth place to fourth place overall with a total of 18.52 pounds. Roger Putman held on for fifth place and Jason Townsend of Canton took sixth with 17.46 pounds.

In the second day of competition, James Rains of Rockwall tricked an unofficial new Lake Fork record white crappie weighing 3.34 pounds for the large fish of the day. If certified, James fish will easily overtake the previous 3.19 pound lake record caught by Emil Schwitzer in 1993. A second massive crappie weighing 2.72 pounds was weighed by fifth place finisher, Roger Putman.

In the Ladies Bonus competition, Leta Bunch of Yantis took top honors on the first day with 6 fish totaling 8.22 pounds. She was followed by Rhonda Reeve of Gun Barrel City with 7.84 pounds. On the second day, Pamela Putman of Lone Oak surged ahead with a final total of 16.03 pounds. Rhonda held her second place spot with 15.07 pounds total while Leta slipped to third by managing only 3.7 pounds for a final total of 11.92 pounds.

In the youth competition, Dillon Gosset’s 9.10 pound stringer easily took top honors on the first day. He was followed by Hayden Brown of Midlothian with 5.65 pounds. Dillon opted not to fish the second day, leaving Hayden with the winning two-day total of 8.51 pounds. He was followed in second for the two-day event by James Brewer of Quitman with 3.33 pounds.

The top finishers and their weights and winnings are summarized below:
1st Paul O'Bier (Gunter, TX), 22.01 lbs, $3164 (w/Saturday 2.12 lb big fish)
2nd Bob McAffrey (Killeen), 16.50 lbs, $1200
3rd Cody Tucker (Aubrey), 18.56 lbs, $1400
4th D. Sean Gossett (Emory), 18.52 lbs, $450
5th Roger Putman (Lone Oak), 17.64 lbs, $600
6th Jason Townsend (Canton), 17.46 lbs, $550

Other winning catches:
8th Larry A Johnson (Rowlett), 16.68 lbs, $100 (Saturday Sixth)
9th James Rains (Rockwall), 16.44 lbs, $246 (Sunday 3.34 lb Big Fish)
10th Pamela Putman (Lone Oak), 16.03 lbs, $150 (Ladies 2-Day First)
14th Rhonda Reeve (Gun Barrel City), 15.07 lbs, $125 (Ladies Saturday & 2-Day Second)
20th Leta Bunch (Yantis), 11.92 lbs, $100 (Ladies Saturday First)
27th Dillon Gossett (Emory), 9.10 lbs, $240 (Saturday Fifth Overall & Youth First)
28th Hayden Brown (Midlothian), 8.51 lbs, $90 (Saturday Youth Second & 2-Day First)
45th James Brewer (Quitman), 3.33 lbs, $65 (2-Day Youth Second)