Brownlee Crappie Shootout 11 results

I would like to extend a big thank you to everyone that helped to make the Brownlee Crappie Shootout 11 a success this year.

Thank you to all of the generous sponsors that donated products to the prize table and continue to make this a successful fund raising event. Justin along with Misty was again an indispensable part of the scoring process. Without them I would still be tallying scores and it would still be wrong. Special thanks to Wayne for preparing and roasting the awesome pig, it turned out excellent. Thank you to Kayla and Edna from CASA of Eastern Oregon for coming down and sharing the great things that CASA does for the local kids and community. Huge thanks to Doni and CJ for getting us anything that we need down at the park and thank you to all of the friends and family that makes this event possible every year.

Finally, thank you to all of the participants that traveled in from close and far (Colorado and Texas were the furthest this year) as well as the local businesses and residents that extend their hospitality to our participants every year. I am happy to say this year had the best local turnout of any year with about a third of the anglers hailing from the Baker, La Grande, Ontario area.

This year we had a fantastic turn out with 74 anglers participating in the Brownlee Crappie Shootout 11. There was a good mix of seasoned anglers and those that have just started kayak fishing. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves while pre fishing and on game day despite the weather that moved in.

The reservoir was near full pool for a few weeks before the event so the fish had a chance to acclimate and were on the bite. The weather was different every day leading up to tournament day so trying to find a pattern while pre fishing was a crap shoot. Anglers took time to explore the area for other fun activities including hiking and even mushroom hunting.

Most species were readily available near Hewitt and Holcomb parks to traveling could be kept to a minimum. This came in handy on Saturday when the forecast turned out to be right and the winds stared early and temps took a nose dive. All of the angler had fun and were able to negotiate the conditions well enough to find some fish.

Over 2200 dollars was raised for the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Eastern Oregon.

Results

Ladies Division:

The Ladies battled it out on the lake and Christine Smith (822.25) barely edged out new comer and local angler Melissa Brown (809.5). Both women crushed most of the other competitors and both finished in the top 10 over all. This is Christine's second consecutive win in the ladies category and we cannot wait to see where she ends up next year. Congratulation Christine!

Overall Results:

This year's overall 1st place winner is no stranger to winning and I am quite surprised that he has not earned a buckle till this year. Congratulations to Brian Beardsley of Hood River for being the only angler to earn over a four digit score (1024.125) this year and capture the commemorative Montana Silversmiths Custom belt buckle and a space on the perpetual Champion Buckle. For winning first place

Brian (Snopro) has fished most of the past BCS events but has always seemed to struggle on game day. He is a very accomplished angler with many top finishes in other kayak events so it was just a matter of time before he got Brownlee dialed in. Brian won a St Croix/Seviin Rod and Reel combo as well as a prize pick. Nice work Brian!

2nd (867.125) place was earn by one of our very local anglers. Josh Haley put together a great set of fish to edge out fellow local angler by a little over 5 total points. Josh first entered a BCS event a few years ago after being called out by a lady friend and he has taken to the sport like, well, a fish LOL. In addition to a prize pick, Josh was forced to accept a wahwah blanky to cry into for missing out on the win. I apologize for this is not my idea. Great fishing Josh and congrats.

3rd (861.5) place went to Kaleb Ricker trailing Josh by just 5.625 points. This goes to show how close these the totals were this year with many fish being caught but having similar lengths within the species. Kaleb and Josh fished near each other all day and ended up that way on the podium. Kaleb was also force to take an (in)appropriately themed towel to haunt his house and give him nightmares. This was also not my doing. So sorry for this but Congratulations Kaleb!

The rest of the top anglers

4th Travis Ash 848.5
5th Nick Wetterlind 834,625
6th Christine Smith 822.25
7th Mike Ragland 820.625
8th Melissa Brown 809.5
9th OJ Davis 804
10th Mark Pillejera 800.625
11th James Reeher 799
12th James Colgan 792.125
13th Cameron Heath 790
14th Tim Durheim 781.375
15th Swede Pearson 774.25

Category Winners:

Category winners receive a special prize pack consisting of special donated gear.

Crappie- Local angler CJ Siebler broke from the pack and fished his secret spot to secure the largest Crappie of the day with a dandy 14.25 inch specimen.

Panfish- BCS veteran Hong Long took top honors when he found a brute 8 inch panfish.

Yellow Perch- Helping to boost his 3rd place finish, Kaleb Ricker posted a 12 perch for a bunch of points and bragging rights.

Catfish- There were a few nice cats caught but Ian Porteus landed a lunker measuring over 25 inches to win the category.

Large Mouth Bass- These are always a challenge but James Colgan was one of the few to find one to earn the category win.

Small Mouth Bass- There were 3 smallies that measured over 20 inches this year but OJ Davis had the winning brute at 20.25 inches.

There were no trout caught on tournament day this year.

Team Event:

This is a challenge where two anglers are picked randomly and do not know their partner is till after the event. This side event we designed to promote comradery on the water and keep the mood fun. It may pay off to help a struggling angler on the water as they may be your partner.

Usually the person that hits the lottery and gets paired with the winning angler also win the team event and this was no exception. Brian Beardsley dragged his lagging partner Jed Rivera (me lol) over the finish line and earned a special team prize. Thanks again Brian!

Mack's Lure Challenge:

This side challenge is where an angler is allowed to use any Mack's Lure gear, donated or their own, to catch and submit fish to win a special Mack's prize. This challenge has surprised many anglers that had no idea of the variety of fish that Mack's Lures can be used for. I think we have had every species of fish submitted using Mack's gear. This year Mark Pillejera landed a winning crappie while trolling and won a special Mack's prize. Congrats Mark.

Thanks again for all of the support and we hope to see you next year.

Brownlee Crappie Shootout

Places 7-14

Placements 15-23

16 Kelly Emery
17 James Savage
18 Bobby P!
19 Hong Long
20 Erik Plunkett
21 Keith Matiskella
22 Levi Davis
23 Constantine Bolo

Placements

24 Josh Dugger
25 Little Redbeard
26 Jim Davis
27 Ian Porteus
28 Captain Redbeard
29 Mike Devore
30 Leo Vergara
31 Wyatt Cox

Placements

32 Guy Marsh
33 Mark Veary (Spot)
34 Hoku Lau
35 Kristie Cronin
36 Marvin Forte
37 Ashley Lewis
38 ME
39 Allie Best

Placements

40 Tyson Parker
41 Miguel Nunez
43 Jeff Rice
44 Dan Drake
45 CJ Siebler
46 Thron Prom
47 Bobby Henshaw
48 Dan Fernandez

Placements

49 Mark Bivins
50 Larry Parker
51 Pete Heredia
53 Grant Parker
54 Tom Mounz
55 Jeff Dugger
56 Jeron Simmons
57 James Bottger

Category
Crappie CJ
Small Mouth Bass OJ Davis
Perch Kaleb

Category

Catfish Ian Porteus
Large Mouth Bass James Colgan

Pig and pix

Ladies Champion Christin Smith

Mack's Lure Challenge PJ

Team Brian and Jed

Thank you Jed, Justin, and other volunteers for a wonderful tournament and for the big write-up with all the pictures - I know all of this is a ton of work and it's very much appreciated!

This was my daughter's first tournament and she had a great time. She said she was a lot more motivated to fish with something on the line. (I didn't plan for that pun - it just happened!)

And, it paid off, since both my girls beat me this year. Congrats to Mrs. Redbeard on her accomplishment! She really earned it with solid prefishing and sticking to her game plan on tourney day - something I could improve at