Stephen Sullivan and Jamie Roberson took the top honors at Truman Lake
The National Crappie League held a 2-day Open Division National Qualifier on June 14 & 15 at Truman Lake, hosted by Clinton Tourism. Weather conditions during the tournament were mostly sunny, hot with a little breeze, and the area had experienced strong storms the night before the competition.
Stephen Sullivan and Jamie Roberson emerged as the top winners with a two-day total weight of 13.88 lbs. They were in second place after day one with 7.26 lbs, but managed to weigh in 6.62 lbs on day two, barely surpassing the other teams. The top three teams were only .01 lbs apart, and Sullivan and Roberson also caught the biggest fish of the tournament, a 2.27 lb slab.
On day one, they found larger fish in waters 5-7 feet deep, but had to move to 9-11 foot waters on day two to find the fish. They utilized Crappie Magnet jigs and switched to black/chartreuse hair jigs for black crappie, using BnM poles. They earned $4,100.00 for the first-place finish and an additional $840.00 for catching the big fish.
In second place were Kyler Beckman and Dillion Stocking with a total weight of 13.87 lbs. They had the highest weight after day one with 7.56 lbs, but on day two, they weighed in 6.31 lbs. The team also caught the second biggest fish of the tournament, a 2.04 lb crappie.
The team stated they covered a lot of water each day and felt that the fishing was great on day one, but they did not fish as well. Day two was tough, and they attributed the difficulty to rising water levels. They earned $2,100.00 for second place and an additional $360.00 for catching the second big fish.
Taking third place were Mike Valentine and Matthew Beckman with a total weight of 14.86 lbs. On day one, they weighed in 7.06 lbs, and on day two, they followed up with 6.80 lbs.
The team fished the upper Grand and explained that something had changed on Truman that week and they couldn’t quite figure it out, so they persevered. They attempted to focus on catching big fish but ended up catching quiet a few smaller fish, around 30-40 fish. They earned $1,200.00 for their third-place finish.
The other winners included Trevor Warlen and Brian Scott in fourth place with 13.29 lbs, earning $1,000.00, and Dalton Barnes and Hunter Bowling in fifth place with 12.84 lbs, winning $800.00. The top male-female team was JJ Watters and Tanya Watters, earning $200.00, and the top senior team was Charlie Bunting and Mike Baker, also winning $200.00.
Special thanks to our local sponsors including Clinton Tourism, Bucksaw Marina & Resort, Everharts Outdoors, Compass Health Network, KDKD Outdoors, Hawthorn Bank Clinton, Sluggers 66, Dietz Family Buffet, Cody’s Bait & Tackle, Hawthorn Bank Warsaw, Sugarfoot BBQ and C Store, Oak Star Bank, Walmart and Puddle Jumpers.
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 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
