NorthWest Kayak Anglers
Kayak Fishing => Events => Topic started by: jed on May 26, 2021, 06:26:34 AM
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Well, the Brownlee Crappie Shootout VI is in the books. I would like to thank all of the great sponsors that donated gear and supported the event, CASA of Eastern Oregon, Hewitt Park, Justin Flynn, the people of Richland, friends and family that helped out, and especially the participants that showed up on Saturday to fish the event. Without a great support base none of this would be possible.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!
The days leading up to the tournament saw seriously heavy winds at the venue and there was worry of a sporty day of fishing on game day. Following the captains meeting on Friday night the winds died down almost completely and those of us that were up around the campfires let out a sigh of relief. Maybe we would catch a break. Saturday dawned with clouds but glassy water conditions. Yes!.
Anglers hit the water at Sunrise and made their way to their favorite spots hoping to catch the early bite. The day proceeded smoothly and anglers checking in reported a somewhat slow bite throughout the Powder River arm of Brownlee. The reservoir was rising about two feet a day and along with the fronts moving through earlier in the week, may have affected the bite. On a high note, they said that if you were about to find a willing biter, the fish were of really good size. Anglers that were pre fishing had pictures of many 13, 14, and even a 15 inch crappie caught near the park.
Covering a lot of water seemed to be the key to successfully for finding fish and then working those areas to upgrade was a winning tactic. The crappie seemed to be scattered and suspended but had a very good average size. Small mouth bass were omni present and would attack just about any offering. There were two Large Mouth bass caught including a massive 22+ inch specimen. Catfish were dispersed and a little more finicky than previous years and anglers had to work to catch one. The perch were willing biters if you could find them. A few trout were caught, mainly as a by catch while trolling. The other panfish category (bluegill) would be a key species to winning the buckle this year. Only three were submitted and two were by the first and second place finishers. Because of the abundance of Pike Minnow in the venue this year, we added them to carp for the bonus 25 point category.
The results
Magic Mike Ragland edged out former champ Evan Merz by only 42 points to take the BCS VI buckle. That's a mere 1.5 inches in Crappie length.
In the women's division, Ashley Merz (and passenger) managed to win her second bracelet by 13 points.
Evan had a great day placing second overall while landing his personal best Large Mouth bass at 22.25 inches.
Hoku Lau finished strong in third place with last year's tournament winner Brad Hole near the top again in fourth.
Top 10
1st- Mike Ragland (2021)
2nd- Evan Merz (2019)
3rd- Hoku Lau
4th- Brad Hole (2020)
5th- James Savage
6th- Geoff Fanning
7th- James Reeher (2017)
8th- Keith Creamans
9th- Dan Bennett
10th- Jim Davis
Category
Crappie Hoku Lau 14.25"
SM Bass Alan Mode 17.75"
LM Bass Evan Merz 22.25"
Trout Al Muncy 21"
Catfish Mike Ragland 28.25"
Panfish Joshua Williams 8.25"
Perch Jed Rivera 13.25"
There was a ton of great fish caught and CONGRATULATIONS to all of the anglers this year. I sincerely hope everyone had fun and hope to see you all next year.
For a bunch more pix, please visit the Brownlee Crappie Shootout Kayak Fishing Tournament Facebook page.
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Thanks for a great event Jed! Was my first time and I had a blast. Funny thing you saying the Catfish bite was tough, I couldn't keep the things off my line! Must have caught at least 20 on tournament day but I was having problems getting a Smallie go figure, didn't get one until literally the last 10 minutes or so, the day before I caught tons of them like everyone else.
Kevin
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That's crazy. You'll be known as the Catman :D I think some people had them dialed. I saw Dark Tuna smash cat after cat in between others that couldn't get them to bite. I talked to others that had to work all day for one.
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:D, better than perch boy!
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:D, better than perch boy!
I'm open to a collab. Super Hero's Catman and Perch Boy! Fighting fish where ever they goooooo hahahahahaha
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Another great year for the Shootout! Thanks Jed for putting in all the hard work and thanks to Justin for the otherwise thankless job of keeping track of who caught what!
-Mark-
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What a blast! Glad the bite was good this year. With that many anglers, I'm sure they will be back for next year. That hashtag #AnyoneButBrad must have got to my head (or been overheard by the Pikeminnow that escaped me all day). See ya in 2022!
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That is funny. I couldn't hardly catch anything other than Pike minnow and yellow perch. Got one catfish and one crappie, but that was enough for top 10 finish on my 1st BCS.
I will be back!
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In three tries, I’ve yet to catch Crappie. ???
Jed, how about a name change to Brownlee Catfish Shootout?
I could use the extra points....
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Glad to see it went well and congratulations to Mike and Ashley (and Jed - serious props for putting this on again).
Hope to be back next year. And really impressed the tournament has grown to such an impressive event, way to go Jed (and family because I know he doesn't do it alone).
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Awesome! Way to go, Mike!
Wish we could have been there. Maybe eventually it will work out.