RECORD 106 BOAT TURN OUT FOR “THE SHACK CRAPPIE JAM 2011”

Nestled in a small town in eastern Missouri, there is a house that is used by a few Missouri outdoorsman as a place to
stay during fishing and hunting season. The Mark Twain Lake area knows it better as “The Shack” and it hosts one of
the largest benefit crappie tournaments in the Midwest. Paris, Missouri is the town and this year the city fairgrounds
made way for a whopping 106 boat weigh in!

The history of the “Shack” tourney started in 2004 when Keith Mueller convinced the other shareholders of the shack;
Mark and Mike Molitor, Shane Cappel, John Dyer and Don Scheiffer that they needed to host a crappie tournament that
benefited local organizations. The members agreed and the first year 30 boats entered the inaugural tournament. A
few years went by and the tournament grew in numbers and by 2009 had 93 boats entered. People were coming from
all over Missouri and neighboring states to fish this tournament. Shack members then decided with the diversity of the
entrants that they should change the beneficiary to a cause that would benefit everyone involved, thus The American
Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

The weekend festivities start on Friday where signup takes place at the Shack in Paris. Shane Cappel convinced my
brother and me to come over and fish this tournament so we thought we would check it out. We pulled into Paris and
went a few blocks and we started seeing trucks lining both sides of the street. This must be the place we said to
ourselves and by the time we got close we noticed trucks with boats lining the street, side yard, and backyard. In the
back there was a signup board and a large group of people (around 75) feasting on wild game and having a few
beverages. We must have been a little late because we signed up 96th. By the end of the night a record 106 boats had
signed up. We have fished several crappie tournaments and besides the national classic you never see a tournament
with this many boats in the Midwest.

Tournament day had less than favorable conditions at the start. Rain and thunderstorms had infiltrated Mark Twain
Lake and parked themselves over most of the lake. Coupled with the Corp. of Engineers dropping the water level, fishing
was going to be a little tough. We caught fish all day but weren’t real happy with the size. Fishing ended at 2:30 pm and
the teams made their way to the fairgrounds in Paris. The tourney is built around “fun” so the weigh in is flighted so
everyone has the chance of winning, not just the top ten. The weights are all tallied and then separated into A, B, and C
flights from the top, middle, and lower weights. The top ten spots in the A flight get a check along with 5 in the B and 3
in the C. A weight of 8.90 lbs took top prize for the tourney and although this was less weight than the members
predicted, it was a very good weight for the conditions.

Once the teams weighed their fish, they were off to the cleaning station to clean the fish and get them ready for the
feed. Like a well oiled machine the fish were cleaned and given to the cooks to be fried and set out in line along with
the chicken and other wild game. The line is a good 50ft of everything you want with a fish fry, salads, beans, fresh
veggies and desserts. It is an extremely large spread but with 106 -2 man teams, family members and friends there had
to be close to 500 people at the pavilion. Even with the fishing not being ideal, everyone I talked to caught fish that day
and were all smiles at the weigh in. The organization at this event is top notch and our crew from central Illinois wants
to thank everyone involved and we will be back with more guys next year!

Article by Greg Humphrey, Hooked Fishing Inc.




A big thanks goes out to all the volunteers and sponsors of the “Shack” crappie Jam
Volunteers
Jim Buckman Ron Schieffer Molly Molitor
Bruce Burkemper Randy Schneider Mary MolitorCindy Creech Nancy Molitor Margie Molitor
Boone Eggering Missy Molitor
Darrell Harke Michelle Molitor
Sponsors
154 Marine
South Fork Resort
Hickman’s IGA
Lewis Marine
Julie’s Country Beauty Shop
Chigger Hill Bait and Tackle
Cappel Molitor Construction
Hobbie Hut
Anne’s Signs
Sierra
Chic Lumber
Monroe Co-op
Papa Dent
State Farm Insurance – Tom Wehde
AJ’s Collision
ARS Rental and Supply
Agnew Funeral
St. Peter’s Garage
R.E. Sales Solutions
Elk Fork Campgrounds
Midwest Electric
Cuivre Tree Service