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Baker & Wilson Win Ross Barnett: Press Release
The National Fishing League presented by Happy Hollow Outdoors held an Open Division national qualifier on June 6 and 7th at Ross Barnett Reservoir in Ridgeland, MS. Teams competed for the top spot and a chance to qualify for the National Championship.
The weather on both competition days was sunny, with temperatures in the 90s and a light breeze.
JoJo Baker and Phillip Wilson took the top honors, maintaining their position atop the Angler Team of the Year awards. The team weighed in 9.88 lbs on day one with a 2.21 lb big fish. On day two, they weighed in 9.39 lbs for a two-day total of 19.27 lbs on 10 fish. Baker expressed some concerns, stating, “I struggled and lost a big fish early. I had to pull off a couple of others that didn’t want to bite. I just didn’t fish clean today at all.” The team used minnows all day and earned $1400.00 for first place and $350.00 for catching the biggest fish.
Second place went to the local husband and wife team of Jason and Renee Clements. They weighed 9.04 lbs on day one and had the largest catch on day two with 9.56 lbs. They also brought in a 1.84 lb crappie as the second biggest fish. The team used red Jenko jig heads with a little glitter, along with their own hand-tied jigs, tipped with a minnow. They mentioned that they had to use small minnows because the fish were not biting the medium-sized ones. They fished in 15-25 ft depths in open waters and earned $750.00 for second place, $200 for the top male/female team, and an additional $105.00 for catching the second biggest fish.
Chris Lovelace and Mike Parks secured third place with weights of 9.21 lbs on day one and 9.01 lbs on day two, totaling 19.22 lbs. They started in standing timber, where they found the big fish. The team stated it was hard to get the fish to bite, so they tried a lot of bait. When nothing seemed to work they turned to May Flies and got the bite. They caught 40-50 fish for the day.
John and Jennifer Ratcliff finished 4th with a total weight of 16.93 lbs, and Chris Fuller-Davis Morgan wrapped up the top five spot with 19.12 lbs. Next on the tournament trail is an Open Division tournament on Truman Lake, Clinton, MO
Special thanks to local sponsors including Explore Ridgeland, Cock of the Walk, Wingate by Wyndham, Mc B’s Bar & Grill, Shuckers Oyster Bar, Pelican Grill, RJ’s Outboards Sales and Service, Van’s Sporting Goods, Crab’s Seafood Shack, Smith Marine, Papito’s Mexican Grill and Pelahatchie Bay.
Thanks to our national sponsors including Happy Hollow Outdoors, Redneck Adventures, DMF Bait Co., Power-Pole, Rockport Rattler, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Carzone, Grenada Lake Resorts, Compass Lithium, Pro Control, Engel Coolers, Gamma, Crappie Brakes, HiTec, The Live Scanner, Midsouth Tackle, Slider, Everharts Outdoors, Amped Outdoors Lithium, BnM Poles, Crappie Magnet, ATX Lures, K9 Fishing, Fish USA, Black Speck Fishing, Prodezigns, Crappie Now, Crappie.com, Nothead Tackle, Top Notch Interiors, and Quality Plumbing Heating.
Upcoming Division I Events for the 2024 tournament season.
Oct 12, 2024 Division I Lake of the Ozarks, MO
Upcoming Open Division Events for 2024.
June 14 & 15, 2024 Open Division Truman Lake, MO
June 28 & 29, 2024 Open Division Sardis Lake, MS
Oct 18 & 19, 2024 Open Division Grenada Lake, MS
Upcoming Wild Card events. Wild Card events are guaranteed 100% payback. Both Division I and Open Division compete. Division I competes on Saturdays, and Open Division teams compete both Friday and Saturday.
Sept 13 & 14, 2024 Wild Card Clinton Lake, KS (NCL)
Rules and more information can be found at www.nationalcrappieleague.com
