2012 CDC Truman Tournament recap
2012 Truman Lake Tournament Series
We had a great 2012 tournament season here on Truman. This was our 3rd full season for crappie.com tournaments on Truman and we have grown each year. We averaged 25 teams this year and had over 80 different teams fish with us. We averaged 33 teams through the first 5 tournaments. We lost several teams to hunting seasons during the last two but still averaged 21 teams in those two.This was our first year to have a points system for our tournaments. It went over well and kept teams interested in fishing more tournaments throughout the year. We awarded plaques for the top five teams in points and also to the top two male/female teams. Both divisions came down to the last tournament to see where everyone would end up in the points.
We have had many teams that have never fished a tournament before fish with us the last fews years which is one reason “JiggingTournaments” Kevin Rogers started these friendly tournaments three years ago. He wanted to show that anyone can do well in tournament fishing and to dispel the way some people felt about the “Professional” or “Big Time” teams in the tournament circuit being too good to help out an average guy wanting to learn about crappie fishing and fishing tournaments. So last year when Lenny "Ranger397V" and I "Jigging15" took over we have tried to maintain the way Kevin done it by making all teams that place in a paying position tell how they caught their fish during the tournament. By giving the general area, baits used, colors, depths, structure and technique. So if a team struggled during a tournament day they will know by the end of the tournament what others did to catch fish under the conditons they fished that day.This has also helped a lot of teams from year to year to better understand what they need to be doing to catch not just fish but better fish. We have also had several teams that had not fished a tournament before ours go on and fish the Crappie Masters here on Truman and do well. We also have the other end of the spectrum of well versed teams fishing these tournaments. We have guys that have won national championships, several teams that have won state championships, and to many Crappie Masters wins and top fives to count. So there is a lot of knowledge between all these anglers and most if not all of them are more than willing to help others out by answering questions or even showing them hands on stuff in the parking lot after a weigh in.
We have picked up several sponsors the last couple years and also have some nice items donated by crappie.com members that fish with us. Bucksaw Resort and Marina has allowed us to use their pavilion for weigh in’s all year long. Pro Angler Rods has donated a 10’ rod for us to give away to the first team out of the money in each tournament. Kazualobzerver has donated a Transom Saver for each tournament throughout the year and we have gave it to the person with the third big fish. DoubleD has donated a little bit of everything this year from trolling rods , crappie checkers to Blakemore jig packs. Vallentine has donated bottled water for each tournament. crappie5 with i’llbejigged company has donated hand tied jigs, jig heads and Southern Pro baits throughout the year. Sliles has donated several B’n’M rods and Mid South tubes. Ranger397V donated Porcupine fish attractors. Jigging15 has donated a tackle box and jig packs from Rainy Day Jigs for kids prizes. Capt.Hook has also donated some grab bags of goodies for the kids. Paul Alpers with Crappie Masters also donated a free entry into the One Pole Ultimate Challenge for 2013. So a huge thanks goes out to all of these people for all they have done to help us out all year. Also a big thanks to Ed Moes “Slab” for the tournament shirts for our series. Also a big thanks to the Wilson boys as we call them Dave and Kenny for another mid season fish fry. They put it on for us after a weigh in and was enjoyed by all. Also to JustJiggin for cooking hotdogs and getting everyone fed during our final tournament. I am sure I have forgotten some others who have donated items or their time to help us out this year with their being so many of you but just want to let eveyone know it is greatly appreciated.
Our 2012 Points Champions are Ranger397V and Kazualobzerver.
Second place is the team of Vallentine and Pitts.
Thrid place in points went to JiggingTournaments and Charlie Roger’s.
Fourth was Hardhunter2 and Charger95.
Ending up in 5th is the team of KCMOSlayer and KCBaller.
Rounding out the top ten is Jigging15/JiggingLow in 6th. TMac/TBok in 7th. OneBadChampion/Jackie in 8th. Tom and Mitch Sabaski in 9th and Capt.Hook/Monty Chase in the 10th position.
On the Male/Female side our 2012 Champions are OneBadChampion and his wife Jackie.
Taking the second place in points was CrappieThumperMK and his wife Amanda.
Both of these teams fished all 7 tournaments with us this year.
Thanks again to everyone who helped us out this year and also a big thanks to everyone who came out and fished with us this year. Lenny and I will take a few weeks off to take a little break and settle our nerves from trying to keep everything straight and running smoothly at the final tournament then we will get back to work for the 2013 season. We will once again try and plan ours around Crappie Masters and the other charity tournaments on Truman. We learned a lot about running these tournaments this year and hope to improve in 2013 and grow these tournaments and the sport of crappie fishing.
One last thing if anyone is wanting to get something like this started on another lake or another state shoot Lenny or I a PM and we will help in any way we can. I have helped a guy in Virginia with questions he has had to get a similar series started on Lake Anna. They tournaments are a lot of fun, great way to learn and promote the sport of crappie fishing and there is no better way to meet some really great people. I have grown lots of great friendships because of these tournaments. Come and join us in 2013.
Thanks again,
Jigging15 and Ranger397V
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