The third stop of the 2006 bass fishing season took the Northeast Arkansas Division of the Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail to the St. Francis River Siphon access near Marked Tree. The Friday night pre-tournament meeting was in Jonesboro, Arkansas at the Highland Drive Baptist Church. Home church of FOM angler Joe Kaiser.
The meeting got under way with Prayer to bless the food and a FINE spaghetti dinner provided for the anglers by the Adult Class with enough dessert for them to take out on Saturday. After the meal angler Joe Kaiser with the other three members of their quartet, Highlanders, blessed us with a couple of songs.
Following the song a truly uplifting testimonial message was given by Brother Shae Caldwell. His message was surrounding Matthew 19&20 with the rich man wanting eternal life but not wanting to sacrifice his riches. The message was followed by an encore performance of the ?Highlanders? with two more songs. Door prizes were given, numbers drawn, and the meeting was dismissed.
At six o'clock the following morning the anglers were given safe light and allowed to blast off. Several days of rain the previous week made for tough fishing conditions. The water was up and muddy, not a good sign for most fishermen. Though high the water had come down a bit from previous days.
Even though conditions were unfavorable everyone knew what they would have to do to take home a check. Everyone put it behind them and fished. As the day went on temperatures combined with humidity rose. When 3 pm drew close and boats came back to the ramp there were a few concerned faces and a few smiling faces. Standing on stage it was hard to tell from the faces who had fish to weigh and who was just disappointed in the day they had. Either way they were all happy to see the ice cold sodas sponsored by Pepsi waiting for them.
As fish started coming to the scales it was a pretty close weigh in. Four teams, however, pulled away. With a bag of three fish weighing 6.19lbs the first place team was Darrel Fletcher and Wally Steen. Wally was absent fishing another tournament so Darrel was by his self all day. They took home $970.
Close behind was the second place team of Mitchell Drum and Kevin Owens. They had three bass weighing 5.97lbs. One of their fish got them second Big Bass weighing 3.34lbs. They also won first place Bonus Bucks. The team took home $763.
The third place team was that of Larry Hollis and Paul Baskin. They had three bass weighing 5.62lbs. The team took home $388.
Fourth Place was taken by the Adult/Junior team of Justin and Ray Hall. They had one bass weighing 3.78 lbs. The bass was heavy enough to win them first Big Bass as well as second Bonus Bucks. They took home $479.
Also bringing home money was the team of Tobin Baker and Kevin Riney. They won $50 for third place Bonus Bucks.
We had a great time and would like to thank Highland Drive Baptist Church for hosting us! We hope to see everyone June 17th at Black River in Brookins, AR.
The North East Arkansas Division would like to thank the FOM National Sponsors for their support. Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Presnell Plantation, Strike King Lures, All Star Rods, Gary Yamamoto Baits, Marshall's Marine, Buckeye Lures, Solar Bat Sunglasses, Kistler Custom Rods, KeelShield, Dual Pro Battetry Chargers, All-Terrain Tackle, XTools, Lowrance, Spot Remover, Stanley Jigs, Jacobs Glass, Castrol, Hot Rod Marine Care Products, Deka Marine Master Batteries, River Bottom Lures, Spike-It Baits, MotorGuide, Hooah Energy Bars & Drinks, Sospenders, Shakespeare, T&H Marine, Diamond Cut Jeans, Bass Rx, & Keep Alive Oxygen Infusors.
We would also like to thank the following sponsors for helping make the Northeast Arkansas Division a reality! Razorback 'Splash' Carwash, State Farm - Max Garnett,Agent, Dexter's Wholesale Paint & Supply, New Haven Baptist Church, Rogers Backhole & Hauling, Mizmo Bait Company, New Creation Designs, Cavenaugh Marine - Pochantas, Caps Plus, McCoy Signs and Rhino Lining of Crowley's Ridge.