The final regular season tournament had ninety-five boats competing in what was also the second and final leg of the Crappie Masters Missouri State Championship on Truman Lake, Mo. Anglers were fishing for more than $22,000.00 in cash and prizes in the August 20, 2016 event. The competition also crowned the 2016 Angler Team of the Year (ATOY).
A cold front and wind showed up the night before the tournament but that did not keep Truman Lake from producing some heavy summertime weights.
Truman Lake was kind to Barry Morrow and Chad Maupin. Morrow and Maupin came to the scales needing to post an impressive weight to take the lead from two other teams that had posted an identical weight of 10.5 pounds to claim the early lead.
The dynamic duo weighed in a 7 fish stringer that pulled the scales to 11.24 pounds. That weight was good to claim the day and win the the Truman event and the 2016 Crappie Masters Missouri State Championship. Morrow and Maupin now hold the distinction of winning the MO championship two years in a row.
Morrow and Maupin were one pole fishing in 3 to 6 feet of water catching their crappie just off the bottom. They used an assortment of jigs including Crappie Town Daddee Shad, Beaver Bottom, and Rocky Top in black and chartreuse color. The team fished from a Ranger boat equipped with a Mercury Motor, Minn Kota Trolling Motor, and Humminbird Electronics.
The win earned them a check for $5220.00 which included a $250.00 bonus, donated by the Missouri Corn Growers Association and American Ethanol, for using E10 gas in their boat and a $570.00 check for catching the second biggest crappie of the tournament. Morrow and Maupin are sponsored by Stump Jumper, Crappie Town, Everharts Outdoor Store, Off Shore Tackle, Perotti Rod Holders, Beaver Bottom Baits, Lights Out Jigs, Brush Lunker Custom Tackle, and Huckabee Rods.
There was a tie for second and third place at 10.50 pounds between Brad Ruyle and Reggie Redinger and the team of Jim Dant and Donny Zufall.
Ruyle and Redinger were also one pole fishing in 2 to 6 feet of water. They were catching their fish anywhere from the top to the bottom of the water column on their own Elite Jigs. The colors of the day were black and chartreuse.
Ruyle and Redinger’s equipment included a Minn Kota Trolling Motor, Humminbird Electronics, Mercury Motor, Ozark Rods, and Grizzly Elite Rods. Ruyle and Redinger received a check for $1900.00. They are sponsored by Elite Jigs, Midwest Land Sales, and Ozark Rods.
Dant and Zufall were two pole fishing in 6 feet of water. They caught their crappie just off the bottom using Bobby Garland 2-inch Slab Slayers in the Lights Out color. They fished from a Ranger boat equipped with a Mercury Motor, Minn Kota Trolling Motor, and Humminbird Electronics.
Team Dant/Zufall are sponsored by Bobby Garland, Elite Jigs, Do-It Molds, Outlaw Rods, and Bait Mate. Dant and Zufall received a $1900.00 check for the second place tie.
The Power Pole team of Charles and Travis Bunting finished in fourth place with 9.41 pounds and received a check for $1200.00.
Fifth place and a check for $1000.00 went to Paul Alpers and Brian McGhee.
Big Fish of the tournament weighed 1.81 pounds and was caught by Ozark Rod pro staffers John and Tracy Shannon. They took home a check for $1330.00.
Ozark Rod pro staff anglers Aaron and Dylan Clark won the Adult/Youth division by weighing in a seven fish limit of 7.61 pounds. They were winners of a $100.00 Bass Pro Shops gift card and a $100.00 Everhart’s Outdoor Store gift card.
Male/Female division winners and representing Crappie Town and Bobboy Garland were Cory Batterson and Dianne Stevens. They weighed in 8.28 pounds and took home a $900.00 check for finishing 12th in the tournament plus a $100.00 Bass Pro Shops gift card.
For more results, photos and future events click on the Crappie Masters Facebook page or visit their website.
The next Crappie Masters event will be the National Championship on Grenada Lake, Sept 28 to Oct. 1, 2016.