Archive
Piedmont Bass Classics
2010
Piedmont Bass Classics And Team Crappie Open On Jordan
By Phil McCarson & Fishbyte.net Staff
Piedmont Bass Classics director, Phil McCarson, called it, “Lethargic”. It was the only word to describe what eight bass teams found on Jordan last Saturday, February 20th. Up for grabs was $970 in cash and prizes, but the bass had other ideas. No fish came to the scales at the Team Bass Division's 3 PM weigh in.
“Anglers threw everything but the kitchen sink,” stated McCarson. “These are solid bass teams and they could coax the bass out.” The group used the Farrington Point landing area for its activities.
According to veteran angler, Todd Sumner of Southern Pines, "The water temps are extremely cold, 37 to 44 degrees, and they need to be 50's on up. This winter had been extremely long, cold and wet. The worst since '93. The shad die-off has been extreme and the bass don't eat much this time of year anyway with the water temps so cold. When they do eat, it's usually the shad that fall right in front of them, and it doesn't take much for them to have enough food to last a week!”
The Army Corps of Engineers has been drawing water from Jordan at a high volume, and that can cause the bite to either stop or slow down. “It's the 'Perfect Storm' for a 'lock-jaw situation," noted Sumner.
The gift certificate that was to be awarded to the first-place team by Farrell's Lakeside, will be added to the first-place prize package in the March 27th event at Jordan, giving the winning team a bonus of $750 in cash and prizes. The next tournament for the group will be March 6th at Shearon Harris out of Holleman's Crossing Wildlife Ramp.
The Piedmont Team Crappie Division also met for competition. Two teams showed up, even after the Friday pre-fishing produced little, according to McCarson. The father-son team of Aaron and Chester Eubanks from Lillington, out fished the team of Rod King and Drew Smith, to take the winner-take-all event. The Eubanks team weighed in 10 crappie weighing a total of 8.97 pounds including the 'big fish winner' weighing 1.56 pounds. Total winnings were $90. The Eubanks caught all their fish in 9 foot of water in a creek channel using a combination of jigs tipped with minnows and just minnows, fishing dead on the bottom. They were anchored and straight-lining the rigs and the bite was so slight, they really had to watch the rod tips, according to the team.
The next tournament for this group will be held March 6th at Shearon Harris out of Holleman's Crossing Wildlife Ramp.
For more tournament information, call Phil McCarson, Tournament Director at 919-471-1571 or 919-971-5042 or visit the web at www.piedmontbassclassics.com. A complete schedule can also be found on the Fishbyte.net Calendar and Forums.
Trails Kick Off 26th Season Across Piedmont
January, 2010
If you are thinking about fishing competitively on the waters of Jordan, Falls, or Shearon Harris this season, there may be an organization with twenty five years of experience organizing fishing tournaments you should hitch your trailer to. The Piedmont Bass Classics has announced a 25-event schedule for 2010 that should make competition on those ponds tough to net.
Phil McCarson began his tournaments in 1985 and hasn't had a break since. He runs both the bass and crappie events simultaneously beginning with a Shearon Harris event February 6th. On top of all this, he also runs the Deep Creek Lure Challenges, Henry's Kids Project Youth Bass Tournament Trail, and the Tobacco Bass Tournaments in that area. This year, his main focus is the Piedmont Bass Classics and he's already lined up a variety of sponsors to make payouts worth chasing.
Piedmont Bass Classics, www.piedmontbassclassics.com, boasts twenty of the twenty five events as sponsored. That support will add from $250 to $1,000 to the first place finisher's payday. What makes this larger competition different is that no club membership fees are required. Anglers pay $100 per team and can even enter a “tournament within a tournament” to win even more.
“I really look forward to the February 6th opening event at Shearon Harris,” stated McCarson. “I've worked pretty hard at obtaining local sponsor prizes for my 1st place winners at each event, and have put together some nice 'optional pots' and year-end incentive awards for anglers that really support the trail.”
According to the director, there are many tournaments out there for anglers to fish, but he's really tried hard to make his better each year. “I like to keep my anglers in the area to fish, and hopefully that will benefit the retailers in the area that cater to them,” he noted. “I also invite 'Team Crappie' anglers to fish at each of my bass tournaments.”
Back in 1995, McCarson directed an event that drew 900 entries for the first two-day tournament. “That might have been the largest attended tournament ever held in North Carolina,” he stated. “My pride and joy was directing the Piedmont Crappie Classics at Falls and Jordan Lakes. I started those in 1985 and my final one was in 2009...25 years of meeting some great anglers!”
McCarson ended,” There are no late fees or membership fees... we just like to have fun!”
For more information about the competitions, visit the Piedmont Bass Classics web site at www.piedmontbassclassics.com or email McCarson at philsflags@msn.com.