1st place, Lewis Gordon & Randy Burleson

2nd place & Big Fish, Tommy Russell & Bill McCoy

Gordon And Burleson Prove Bear Creek Mastery On Wylie
March 27, 2010
By Martin Ledford
Photos Courtesy of Ken Troutman

When the Bear Creek Bass Club rolled into “Lake Wylie town” last weekend, one bass team had something to prove and defend. Returning as the 2009 winners of the pond, a lot of pride was on the line and they needed to prove they were the masters of the lake. The only way to do that was to repeat.

Twenty five boat teams rocked the lake, beginning at 8 AM from the Copperhead Island landing. At the end of the day, fourteen of those teams would bring a five-fish limit to the 4 PM scales. Average fish weight would be just over 2.2 pounds and ninety-nine of them would hit the weigh-in basket. For Lewis Gordon and Randy Burleson, the competition was stiff.

3rd place, David Strider (with Ken Troutman)

4th place, Emmitt Ray & Martin Ledford

Saturday provided the club with sunny skies and water temps that rose from 54 to 60 degrees by day's end. Waters were stained throughout the lake. The March Wylie event would pay four places and two Big Fish honors from the $30 entry fee.

The Bear Creek Bass Club holds eleven events during the season. Two of those are two-day competitions. Their season ends in November. Annual dues are just $40 and monthly meetings are held. Ryan Mullis serves as president.

After the long line of members weighing in fish was complete and scales were closed, Burleson and Gordon had done it again. The partners had a two-year total of 43.06 pounds; 20.66 pounds of it came this year. The winners could claim mastery of the lake and a $200 payday. They also scored Second Big Fish and added $95 to their winnings.

Second place belonged to Bill McCoy and Tommy Russell who netted an impressive 16.24 pound sack that included Big Fish, a 6.06 pounder. They pair took home $150 for second and $140 for the lunker.

David Strider and Ken Troutman hauled 13.98 pounds in and captured third place, which paid $100. The final paying position went to Emmitt Ray and Martin Ledford who had 13.40 pounds for $50.

The club puts Wateree in its sights next month, Saturday and Sunday, April 17 and 18 for the first of two longer events in their season. They return to Wateree in October for a second, two-day competition.

For more information about the group, contact Martin Ledford at mledford@bearcreekbassclub.org or visit their web site, maintained by Ledford, at www.bearcreekbassclub.org. Details are also available on the Fishbyte.Net pages.

Marty And Dusty Nester Win At Lake Wylie
By Wes Lewis
Photo Courtesy of Mike Sides

The Piedmont Division of the Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail made its second stop of the year on the waters of Lake Wylie on the North Carolina/South Carolina border on March 20th. The meeting on the previous Friday night was hosted by Westmoreland Baptist Church on the west side of Charlotte. After the grilled hamburgers and hot dogs were served, the Fishers of Men East Regional Director, John Snincak, brought the message.

1st place, Marty & Dusty Nester

On Saturday morning, 36 teams launched from the South Point access on a brisk morning. The air temperature was soon to change, as it warmed up to about 75 degrees. Thirty five of the 36 teams brought bass to the scales and the bass were on the large side.

The team of Marty and Dusty Nester of Mt. Airy N C, took first place with a healthy bag of 17.64 pounds, including a Big Fish of the tournament of 4.90 pounds. They won $1389 as well as $500 for Triton Gold and $125 for being members of PAA. They caught them on Shaky Heads and had a limit after only 30 minutes of fishing.

The second place team of CJ Johnston and Matt Stanley of Salisbury, NC carried 17.22 pounds of bass to the scales, caught on jigs. They earned a pay check of $583. In third was the team of Robert Mixon and Steve Sink of Lexington, NC with 16 pounds even. They won $537. Fourth place went to Brad Carpenter and Brent Shytles with 14.14 pounds, earning a paycheck of $389. and fifth place was earned by Clarence Brickey and James Allred with 13.70 pounds ($324). The second Big Fish of the event was caught by the Richard and Wayne Bost of Salisbury, tipping the scales at 4.66 pounds. They also finished 6th, earning $404. The last paying place went to Jon Morgan and Rodney Eller of Rockwell, NC. Their prize was $194.

The next tournament will be on Lake Norman and will be held at the McCrary Creek Ramp on Hwy 150, approximately 10 miles out of Mooresville just off the Hwy 150 bridge. The Friday night meeting will be held at Peninsula Baptist Church beginning at 5:30 PM.

Divisional sponsors are: Nester Hoisery, Snyders Packaging, Tamarac Marina, Ben Franklin; Atty at Law, Cagles Chevron and Fisherman's Friend. Tournament sponsors are: Sports Fisherman’s Center, Bass Pro Shops, The Trophy House, Asheboro Alarm and Electric Co. and Carolina Marina. Sponsoring the Adult/Jr. teams is Lyerly Dental and the door prize sponsors were: Advance Auto, Hwy 49 Sporting Goods, Fishing Fever, Get The Net Bait Co. Poison Ivy Soap, Flemming Candy Co. and Tournament Lure Concepts.

TBF Winners 2009

On a very hot and humid Saturday, 29 anglers from across the state competed in the TBF Youth Championship at Lake Wylie. After a week-long warming trend, many of the young anglers struggled to find the fish that had been running the banks in previous weeks at Lake Wylie. But, as usual, when you put the best young anglers from across the state on a body of water, some will figure it out.

Southfork youth anglers comprised 4 of the top 6 positions across both divisions. In the older age division, 15-18, Dylan Flowe of Sportmans Bassmasters out distanced Cody Stegall of Southfork for the title by .66 pounds, with both anglers bringing in limits. The top five were as follows:

15-18 Division
Dylan Flowe Sportsmans Bassmasters 5 fish – 10.07;
Cody Stegall Southfork Bassmasters 5 fish – 9.41;
Josh Farley Renegade Bassmasters 5 fish – 9.07;
Tim McMillan Carolina Bassers 3 fish – 5.24;
Taylor Schneider Southfork Bassmasters 3 fish – 4.83.

State Team 2009

In the 11-14 age division, Kendall Seitz crushed his division with the only limit brought in by a younger angler, winning by a 3.63 pound margin.
Kendall rode his topwater bite to his first State Championship.

11-14 Division
Kendall Seitz Southfork Bassmasters 5 fish – 9.26;
Joshua Weddle Southfork Bassmasters 2 fish – 5.63;
Mike Guin Southfork Bassmasters 2 fish – 4.42;
Chris Carnes Southfork Bassmasters 2 fish – 3.61;
Brad Culler Southfork Bassmasters 2 fish – 2.73.

Kendall Seitz and Dylan Flowe also advanced to the National Guard Junior World Championships in Pittsburgh PA.