It is with much sadness, and yet joy at the same time that I write this today. As many of you know the River Bassin Tournament Trail has been a project of mine for the past few years that I have truly enjoyed putting it on for all the river bass fishing kayak anglers out there. It has really been a success, and grew to become the largest kayak fishing tournament trail in the world in terms of number of stops (12 last year from Texas to Wisconsin over to Virginia and in between) with large sponsors such as Bass Pro Shops, GoPro, Discount Tire Company, Jiffy Lube, Gorilla Glue Co., Jackson Kayak, NuCanoe, Diablo Paddlesports, RAM Mounts, Bending Branches/Aqua Bound, Kokatat etc. However, there comes a time in life when you have to realize that sometimes less is more and more is less, and that you simply cannot do everything, or please everyone. Even if you somehow tried to do everything, then all those things will certainly not get done properly. If I learned one thing from my dad it was, “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” Over the past few months we’ve been preparing the trail behind the scenes, to run in a more efficient, less “Drew intensive” manner, but it just appears that it will be too much to for my staff and I to handle this year. However, in lieu of the trail we’ll be working on other similar, less “Drew intensive” projects for kayak anglers and they are listed below.

• We’ll get back to properly managing my favorite site, RiverBassin.com, the way it deserves to be and continue to set up more of its popular “River Bassin Rodeo” events that will be managed by Brooks Beatty, who was coordinating the tournament trail with me. These are laid back events where those deeper friendships are formed between members of the RiverBassin.com forum and last throughout a weekend that involves camping, fellowship, food and fishing with no “competitive” element. Check back often to see the update schedule of rodeos. I personally am looking forward to attending some of these like I used to and not having any responsibility to put on an “event” or “show.” Not to mentioned I am looking forward to getting to fish a little myself!
• There is one lone River Bassin Tournament that will still take place this year, because it was already set a couple months ago, and that is the stop in the Chicago, IL, area (Aurora) through Paddle & Trail on July 26^th. For more information on this tournament please contact them at 855-752-9688 or visit paddleandtrail.com
• I’ll also be announcing some new kayak fishing projects soon that Brooks Beatty and I will be working on, that should be pretty exciting and unique.
• I hope to be able to be more available to speak at local churches through their outdoor ministries, youth groups etc.
• I’ll be starting a blog category on my site (DrewGregory.com) that I’ll write once a month to encourage young adults in regards to all the numerous issues that they’re going through. I am certain this will really help so many who are in that most exciting phase of life where they have the ability to go anywhere, do anything and seemingly have the world at their fingertips! However, at the same time that freedom comes at a price where you can also put yourself in a big hole in life due to the decisions we make. I really want to help young people make those right decisions through this blog, and all of my endeavors.

Now, to those that fished the trail, were hoping to fish it, who are a little closer to me or who sponsored the trail, the following may be of some interest and continues to explain why in the world we’re not continuing this cool thing? Warning: This gets kinda personal, and even sappy, but how can it not given how much we poured into this trail with an insane amount of determination, intensity and passion.

I’ve learned that life is a constant cycle of experiences, then learning from them, more experiences, then learning, repeat. During these experiences over the past couple years I’ve learned that just because something has potential to be great, and you know you could make it great, doesn’t always mean you should do it, especially when doing it causes you to neglect things in life that are truly the greatest. The good news for me in regards to all this is that maybe I’ll get to spend that more time focusing on those things that are the greatest, such as spending more time with my mom and dad, brother, sister & brother-n-law, and be a good influence on my niece and nephew as they grow up. Maybe I’ll get to meet up with some old friends and catch up, go fishing and talk and laugh about old times; maybe I’ll actually get to pursue a good woman with the respect and attention that a good woman deserves; maybe I’ll get to join some River Bassin Rodeos with the anglers who attend without that pressure to “perform” or put on a “show”; maybe I’ll get to serve more at my local church; maybe I’ll be able to do some of these things which matter more in life!

It’s no secret that some of the endeavors I’ve been working on over the past few years have done well (Jackson Kayak designs, RiverBassin.com, the tournament trail etc.) and have grown. Naturally, my roles in these have grown too, putting me in this difficult position I find myself. I am truly humbled and grateful that so many people have been a part of all of these endeavors and it is you, the people, that have been the catalyst in making them so GREAT! Thank you so much.

This is not easy for me to let go of, however, and it is because of the people. The number of relationships and friendships I’ve developed throughout the trail are so precious to me and I love every one. However, the fact is the more relationships you have (especially now with facebook and other social media), means that you no doubt have a higher number of shallow relationships and fewer “deeper friendships.” This is not always a good thing either.

This is one reason I am excited about getting back to putting on more River Bassin Rodeos because it is about the people. For those that don’t know the rodeos are no more than camping and fishing get-togethers that are formed organically by the members of RiverBassin.com and require little to no time on my part to manage. Some sponsors may still chip in some raffle prizes at these events and I’m sure the Jackson Kayak dealers will still be a part of them as well because, well, they epitomize what these events are all about – community & family – because they are all family run, independent businesses themselves. However, we won’t be “looking” for sponsors or any of that stuff, but of course if someone sends Brooks or I an email and wants to donate some prizes to sponsor the events, then we will of course take them up on it. These events may not get the same national attention the tournaments would, but who cares because they aren’t meant to. They are meant to really be the opposite, a place where the “business” of kayak fishing is out of our minds and we can just relax and enjoying fellowship and food around a campfire with friends, and maybe wet a line or two during the day.

The saddest part of ending the trail is that I’m going to miss spending time with the anglers at the tournaments, and miss seeing their smiling faces on stage, creating the drama that went along with so many great finishes by so many truly good, fun, classy people. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m tearing up a little as I write this because you guys all have no idea how you’ve touched me and made my job running this trail so much fun. Many probably have no idea the time and investment involved in developing it either, and this is why it is especially difficult for me to let go of because I do have so much time, energy and money invested.

For all the fans of the trail here is an interesting inside story about some of my investment that really will help you empathize with how hard this decision has been for me. I remember during the first year when corporate Bass Pro Shops told me they would sponsor the trail, but that they would not require any of their stores to host one if the store did not want to. Well, for whatever reason the Birmingham Bass Pro Shops wouldn’t respond to any of my emails when I was trying to set up dates that first year. I had to make something happen soon because we really wanted Birmingham as one of the stops during the first year, because the area has so many good streams for river bassin and many anglers that kayak fish those rivers. I decided if I wanted to make this trail happen I could no longer send emails or make phone calls; I had to literally drive to Birmingham to get an answer. I did just that, and upon arrival I asked for the manager I’d been sending emails to. When he came over, in my best attempt to “act,” I said, “Hey, I was just passing through the neighborhood and was wondering if you guys have seen my email about the kayak fishing tournaments that I would love to have you guys host?” Then, after getting a brief conversation that ended in a, “No, we’re just too busy, sorry man,” I drove around frustrated and dumbfounded because there was very little work involved on their part and they had just come out with a line of their own fishing kayaks, so it seemed like a no brainer event to promote them. I wasn’t sure what to do because at this point I only had three stores committed. I asked God to help show me how to proceed and He told me to go back in and talk to the general manager of the store and fight for that stop. So, I walked right back into that Bass Pro, borderline demanded to talk to the general manager, and with my most convicting plea I let him know how much of a success this trail would be, and why Birmingham was critical to its overall success. He said, “I like your passion, we’ll do it.” Alright, now I had four yes answers, out of the five stores I was hoping for, so I then drove down to Macon, GA, to pull the same “I happened to be in the neighborhood” act. I think I even had to spend the night there because the manager wasn’t in until the next day. Anyway, they agreed as well and it was a good ride all the way home to Greenwood, SC, where I was living at that time.

I could go on and on with so many other similar examples (especially regarding lining up sponsors, oh brother!) like this that no one knows about, but you probably get the idea of how hard this has to be for me to let this thing go, given that I fought so hard to establish these hosts and sponsors just make the trail a reality. Those moments, combined with the moments of those on stage and the look on the winners faces have me torn, but I know I am doing the right thing because I do feel such a peace inside about this decision.

I know so many of you who have sent messages letting me know how much fun you had and how you want a stop closer to you and want the trail to expand even more and have pleaded for this trail to continue. Those kind of messages are also what makes it so hard to end because I love to do things that I know will bring joy to people. One would think that ending it makes all that investment seem wasted to me, but for the ones who participated, and especially the kids who took part, won some awesome prizes, and fell in love with the sport of kayak fishing through it, it was all worth every ounce of effort and investment. I know it will certainly disappoint many out there, and I am sorry, but believe me if some entity wanted to do all the time consuming logistics (sponsor development, scheduling, driving to events, on site logistics, book keeping & accounting, web work, marketing and PR) and just allow me to fly in on tournament day to hang out with everyone and be on stage to put on a great show like we did, I’d take it in a heart beat! Unfortunately, that’s not the case and someone has to do all those other tasks in order to make the entire thing go – for me it is just coming at too great a cost. Even though I am going to miss these events, keep in mind I’m still going to be around at all the shows I go to with Jackson Kayak and our dealers, as well as participating in more River Bassin Rodeos as well. I’m not going anywhere, just making sure my schedule is a little more free from places I “have to be” in case I “should be” at something important like my niece or nephew’s birthday party, or spending time with my mom and dad on some other days that aren’t Christmas, Easter, Mothers Day or Thanksgiving; and maybe if I’m fortunate I’ll get to take a special lady on a kayaking trip down my favorite river…hey, we can’t have it all I suppose but a guy can certainly dream, right…

Drew Gregory

“Because in the beginning there were rivers”

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Special thanks needs to be sent out to the ones who really worked hard with me behind the scenes to make these past few years a blast.

Mike Dickerman: business partner, friend, teacher of so many important values that are more priceless than 2 college degrees. Not only did he teach me so much, he invested so much additional setting up the websites, doing graphic design work, and for the first year helped me score the events and put together the presentations, and of course he did so much more.

Also, Jason Springs: Jason deserves a lot of credit as well as he helped with the websites that first year, especially when Mike was laid up for some time after surgery.

Wylene Dickerman: Office manager, check writer, book keeper and everything else she did for us, thanks!

David Rodrigue: who build the program we used that helped us quickly score the tournaments during the second year. He spent countless hours working on the program and mid way through the second year it was like a well oiled machine and we were getting into the presentation before 6pm at times.

Brooks Beatty: who helped travel the country with me to most of the stops during the second year and took over the behind the scenes role of setting up, tearing down and preparing the presentation and helping with scoring.

Gregg Hughes: formerly of Sedan Communications (currently VP or Communications at NBC Sports), Jason Brown and Heather Thompson of the Hope-Beckham PR Firm. They were the driving force that got the trail so much non-endemic press in 2011 and because of them this tournament trail was in all the major newspapers, and I was also able to promote it on numerous radio and television shows across the country.

Kristy Rutter: who, thanks to her incredible organization skills, had all of the prizes and give-aways in order in the containers ready for Brooks and I to take with us on the road before we left for each tour stop.

Tommy Wilkinson: who without him I could not have made a connection with Bass Pro Shops. It just goes to show that even if you are working a job when you are 18 years old, you’ll want to work as hard as you can for whoever you’re working for and never burn bridges because I only knew Tommy from working for him as an 18 year old associate in freshwater fishing at the ATL Bass Pro Shops. I’m sure had I not worked as hard as I could for him each day, my reaching out to him to help me, 10 years later, would have fallen on deaf ears.

Tom “PawPaw” Reese: for just being a cool dude and always helping out whenever we needed something done on the site or RiverBassin.com.

All of the individuals who volunteered at each stop, you know who you are and I truly appreciate your passion for River Bassin.

Of course my family who came to some of the events when they could and helped out however they could.

And, once again, all of the sponsors and hosts of the trail, you were all awesome~

by: Brooks Beatty

There is an old southern saying that describes really hot summer days as being “Hotter than the Georgia asphalt”, and without a doubt those who fished the River Bassin Trail’s Atlanta stop understood where this saying came from.  This stop of the 2011 River Bassin Tournament Trail, presented by Jackson Kayak, was held at the Bass Pro Shops in Atlanta, GA, where they had seen very little rain in the previous weeks and the temperatures had been the 90’s, with heat indexes surpassing the 100 degree mark. It was a pretty typical Georgia summer. That Friday and Saturday of the tournament the area finally saw a few pop up showers, but these rains would only produce steamy roads. It was not enough rain to affect the low water levels.

Georgia, especially around the Atlanta area, has river systems that are packed with bass. This area of the southeast has the capabilities of producing monster fish (George Perry’s world record bass was caught in Georgia). Anglers are fishing in waters where they have a chance of hooking into a largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, redeye, or even a shoal bass. Casting into waters where those kind of monsters are lurking will get any bass angler fired up!

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Paddle and Trail Young River Basser Division

Atlanta, GA found one young angler who wasn’t scared of the heat and fished in the Paddle and Trail Young River Basser Division. Taylor Rodrique decided to team up with his dad David Rodrique and go after some Georgia Bass. Unfortunately, Taylor’s only fish of the day flopped out of the boat and he was unable to score it, but at least he caught one on this tough day!  Way to go Taylor!  The good news for Taylor is that he is only 11 years old, so he still has a few years to claim a Young River Basser title.

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Kokatat Team Division

This has been a year for new records in the Kokatat Team Division. Earlier this year at the Columbus stop, Tim Perkins and Lance Coley set a new record with the largest team virtual stringer. There was another record set in Georgia by a team, but they didn’t break the overall length record. The winners, Jason and Rachael Stutts, are the first husband and wife duo to ever win the team division.  Jason and Rachael reside in Jackson, GA, and have definitely put the time and practice in to know how to win and where to win. They also fished the Columbus stop, where Jason won the individual division and Rachael took the Top Female award, but they did not catch enough to win the team division there. The Atlanta stop was their chance for redemption, and how sweet it was for them to win this division together. Their virtual stringer at 64.25 inches was still big enough to win even though Rachael lost one of her best river bass ever, it was guessed to weigh around 4 or 5 pounds. Drew Haerer and Bill Kohls were the second place team. Haerer and Kohls fell short by a mere .50 inches of the Stutts team, with a total length of 63.75. Eric Boyd and Todd Braswell pulled out a third place finish with a 60.25 inch virtual stringer. Boyd’s original partner Caja Ormond was not able to get away from Charlotte, NC in time, so Eric talked it over with Todd at the rules meeting and they decided to pair up and won some nice gift cards from Bass Pro Shops.

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Aqua Bound Individual Angler Division

In the Aqua Bound Individual Division, there was some pretty close battles for the top 5 winners. Things were so close, there were actually two ties within the top five, which is a first for this season of the River Bassin Tournament Trail. The two tie breakers were for 2^nd/3^rd place and then for 4^th/5^th place. Rocky Ly and Drew Haerer both ended up catching 49.25 inch virtual stringers, but Rocky came out on top with a big fish of 19.50, taking 4th place. Drew’s big fish wasn’t far behind; he caught a solid 19 inch spotted bass and captured the 5^th place spot. A lot of these anglers are starting to see some good placement for the River Basser of the Year, and as long as they keep having top 5 finishes they will have a good chance at taking home the title this year.

The other tie was between Tim Perkins and Nawtou Ly; both have done well this year on the tournament trail and have made it to multiple stops. Tim and Nawtou tied with 50.25 inches, but Tim prevailed to take second place because his largest bass was 17.50 inches bass compared to Nawtou’s 17-incher. This was no doubt one close top 5, except for first place, where Jason Stutts won by a solid two inches.

Earlier this year in Columbus, GA, Jason caught his personal best bass, which happened to also be a Shoal Bass. Well Jason has been doing something right, because he caught his second best shoal bass at the Atlanta stop, a good looking 21.50 incher. It’s one thing to catch these kinds of fish when you are just out fishing with your buddies, but to catch these quality fish and land them in a tournament is truly remarkable.

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Big Fish Award

So far Jason Stutts has won The KokatatTeam Division and The ­­­­Aqua Bound Individual Division, so why not go for the trifecta. Well he did, Jason won the NuCanoe Big Fish Award with his serious 21.50 inch stud shoalie.

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Top Female

Perhaps the tournament trail should change the name of the Atlanta stop to the Stutts show, as Rachael Stutts won the Top Female Award with her 26.50 inch virtual stringer. As mentioned earlier, Rachael lost a good fish on the water. Luckily it didn’t keep her from claiming her second Top Female Award of the 2011 River Bassin Tournament Trail.

To view a slide show of all the Atlanta photos check out our media gallery.

Despite the concern of flooded rivers, by the time Saturday rolled around the majority of the flowing waters in the area were at very fishable levels. Although, fishable levels don’t always mean the fish are biting!  This tournament was just as any major championship should be – tough! However, just like someone still wins in the most difficult conditions at a major golf championship, someone was also going to walk away as the champion of the Roanoke stop and the 2011 River Basser of the Year.  It was actually hard for any angler to lose being in such a beautiful setting such as Roanoke, Virginia, which gave us absolutely perfect weather and amazing mountain scenery to go along with the fellowship, food and live music from the Blue Moonshine band at the tournament trail finale.  The trail even blew out numerous door prizes and giveaways, including Jeff Little’s sample packs of Confidence Baits lures and one of his DVDs.  Fellow Wilderness Systems pro, Chad Hoover, also joined the fun the previous evening at the rules meeting, where he shared numerous stories and insights into the kayak fishing industry alongside tournament director and Jackson Kayak pro, Drew Gregory.

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Paddle and Trail Young River Basser Division

Onto the results, where the Paddle and Trail youth division ended up being won by Zalen Akers, who thanked his dad, Tim Akers, on stage for taking him fishing and teaching him what he knows. Tim and Zalen chose to fish a small flow that had already come back down to very clear conditions, and it paid off as the 10-year-old walked away with a brand-new kayak! Also winning a kayak in the youth division was 13-year-old Isaiah Phillips, who won the Kayak Bass Fishing lake division. This division was held on Smith Mountain Lake, which is Isaiah’s home water so it was no surprise that he took the title. On stage he emphatically told the story of a massive 10-pound bass that he lost around noon.  In the end, it was a solid 12-and-a-half inch largemouth bass that earned him the youth title in the lake division. Both youth anglers took home an Ascend kayak from Bass Pro Shops.

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Kokatat Team Division

In the Kokatat Watersports Wear Team Division we also had Lake and River categories. Starting off on the river, we had an impressive top three consisting of River Bassin Team of the Year leaders Drew Haerer and Bill Khols, individual River Basser of the Year Tim Perkins and his brother Greg, and local favorites Pat Matheny and Brett Davis. Thanks to some clever tactics from Tim Perkins, in which he decided to switch from a small clear creek to a larger stained river in order to catch larger fish, the brother-brother team of Perkins and Perkins took the title!  Drew Haerer and Bill Khols took second place and it wasn’t surprising to see the Matheny and Davis in the top three either, due to their acumen relating to these Roanoke region waters. However, Drew Haerer and Bill Khols shouldn’t be too bummed about finishing second at this stop because they ended up taking the overall RiverBassin.com River Bassin Team of the Year title.. Through 12 tournaments across the country, in 2011, they proved to be the most consistent team.  Rounding out the top three in the Team of the Year Race were Tim Perkins and Lance Cooley and husband and wife team Jason and Rachel Stutts.

In the Kokatat Team Lake division, the trail once again saw a couple familiar faces, Bob Dainton and Joey Sullivan, come away with the victory. In what turned out to be unusually tough conditions on Smith Mountain Lake they found a pattern of skipping soft plastics under docks that caught just enough fish to win. The husband and wife team of Matt and Rhonda Honaker, were followed by Brandon King and Shane Figgins in the top three.  All team division winners and Team of the Year winners won kayaks from either Jackson Kayak or NuCanoe and of course some great Kokatat gear!

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Aqua Bound Individual Angler Division

In the Individual Angler Lake division, it was no surprise that it came down to teammates Joey Sullivan and Bob Dainton, with Robert Sowder rounding out the top three.  However, Rhonda Honaker would take Top Female and the NuCanoe Big Fish honors with her 16.25 inch largemouth bass. Now, back to the feud between the partners, this time Joey Sullivan was able to claim the title over his friend, and former champion, Bob Dainton.  Joey took home a nice new kayak from Diablo Paddlesports for his efforts.

The Aqua Bound Individual Angler Division was equally exciting as it not only came down to Drew Haerer (Durham, NC) and Tim Perkins (Heflin, AL) for the Roanoke title, but also for the River Basser of the Year title.  Despite the challenging conditions, both anglers proved why they were ranked so highly coming in. Tim Perkins’ strategy of moving to the bigger river proved to be the right one, to not only win the team title for he and his brother, but the title in the individual division as well. His final three fish total was 49.25 inches.  He attributed his win to throwing a spinner bait, which of course puts out a lot of flash and vibration in the murky water. This was his pattern on the previous three or four tournaments this year, and yet again it paid off.  Coming into this tournament Tim was ranked first in the River Basser of the Year standings, and obviously with the win he secured the title of 2011 River Basser of the Year on the 2011 River Bassin Tournament Trail, presented by Jackson Kayak.  Following Tim in the RBOY standings were Drew Haerer, Pat Kellner, Jason Stutts and Lance Coley.  Kellner, coming all the way from Texas, represented the Lone Star State well as he proved that river patterns are the same on east as they are out in the hill country of west Texas. Coley, last year’s champion, also from Alabama, had a great run again this year but just fell short in the end. Newcomer Jason Stutts proved he has what it takes to potentially win this tournament trail one year. For winning the Individual Angler River Division and River Basser of the Year championship Tim received new kayaks from Jackson Kayak – one Coosa, and he’ll be one of the first to receive the new Jackson Cuda set to hit stores in November 2011. Tim Perkins also won $500 in cash and was truly a humble champion on stage giving credit to his wife for allowing him to compete and the discipline and hard work it took in scouting and pre-fishing.  Both Tim and Drew had a fabulous year on the trail and it was only fitting that they tied for the final NuCanoe Big Fish of the year, each with a solid 17.25 inch fish in tough conditions.

When this tournament was all said and done eight kayaks were given away and over $10,000 in prizes at this stop alone! The anglers that made the trip realize just why Roanoke, Virginia, is the perfect location for hosting this finale, and for anyone who simply desires to enjoy the great outdoors in a special place. Thanks again to all our sponsors, the region of Roanoke, Virginia, and all the participants in the 2011 River Bassin Tournament Trail. Next year’s tournament schedule should be released in the coming months so please stay tuned at riverbassintrail.com for more information.

To view full tournament results click here.

To view the Roanoke photos click here to get to the 2011 media gallery

Interesting Tournament Stats

• 12 tournament stops in 10 states
• 183 anglers from 21 states
• 68 teams competed
• State with the most anglers–Texas (28)
• Youngest angler–7 years old (Taylor Maione)
• Average winning individual 3-fish virtual stringer–51.75 inches
• Average winning team 4-fish virtual stringer – 68.25 inches
• 465 total fish checked in
  • Totaling over 6000 inches
  • 16 fish were over 20 inches
  • 57 fish were over 17 inches
  • longest finish of the trail–23.5 inches (tied–Bo Anders, Charlotte, and Lance Coley, Columbus, Georgia)
  • Longest 3 fish individual stringer– 58.75 inches (Jason stutts, Columbus Georgia)
  • Longest team stringer– 80.5 inches (Lance Coley and Tim Perkins, Columbus Georgia)

Lake division

by: Brooks Beatty

Another first time stop for the River Bassin Trail was in Nashville, TN. The host location was at Bass Pro Shops, which was under water from serious flooding in May of last year; but they are back up and running with a beautiful store. Nashville is obviously known for country music and musicians looking to make it big. One thing you don’t hear about Nashville too often is its bass fishing, but this area is full of bassy rivers and boasts several different black bass species within the boundary.

If you ask any local musician in Nashville, they will tell you they have spent numerous hours practicing and several nights playing any gig they can find to help them make it big. Well in the same way the tournament anglers must put in the time and effort if they want to win. They spend the time practicing and fishing on local rivers so that they are familiar with the waters when it comes tournament time. They often try different and new techniques, which could be different lures, line, weight, retrieve speeds, etc., to see which ones work best for them in different situations and conditions. In a similar way, musicians will learn different songs and styles of songs that work better in different situations or with different crowds. In either situation one has to be able to please the crowd, whether it is a school of smallmouth or college block party, you have to be able to adjust and figure out what they like. These principles don’t just apply to fishing and music, they will hold true in anything one wants to be successful at. He or she must put in the time and effort and be ready to adapt to any situation or obstacle they may face. If prepared and well trained, these won’t be obstacles but stepping stones to the top as they were for our winners in Nashville.

Nashville was definitely amongst some warm summer temperatures for this tournament stop. With highs in the low 90’s and chances of possible thunderstorms, it was typical summer weather for a weekend in the south. They had seen some recent summer rains that muddied up the main rivers but didn’t reach back to the smaller creeks off the big water. Anglers can usually come across bigger fish in the main river, but would the muddy waters and faster current slow that bite down or turn it on. With 20 anglers out in the field, some chose to wrestle the big water while others took their chances in the clearer smaller rivers and streams.

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Paddle and Trail Young River Basser Division

Two Young River Bassers braved the heat on this day and they proved they have the talent to be a force even among the adults. Our two Paddle and Trail Young River Bassers were Jacob Wood and Jacob Frawley, and one of these guys would give the whole field a run for their money. That angler was Jacob Frawley, who was our Young River Basser Division winner. He had a 48.25 inch virtual stringer which landed him in 2^nd place overall! Amongst his nice virtual stringer included a 19.75 inch smallmouth; this beautiful bronze back took home the NuCanoe Big Fish of the tournament award. It’s becoming fairly obvious that the youth anglers are at no disadvantage in these tournaments, and have just as good a chance as anybody to take home the big prizes!

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In the Kokatat Team Division we had 8 teams come back with virtual stingers, and 5 of those had a full limit. There was only a difference of 8 inches between the top 5 teams, as well as a tie for 4^th and 5^th place. Ties are decided by whoever has the longest individual fish, and if that results in a tie, it then carries on to the next longest fish and so on. The team consisting of Tim Perkins and Lance Coley just came off a win in Columbus, GA, and just kept on rolling as they took the title in Nashville with 65.75 inches. The nearest team, Doug Markham and Chris Nischan, was a little over 4 inches behind with 61.50 total inches. The Father/Son duo, Rick and Jacob Frawley took home the third place honors with a respectable 58.00 inches. Terry Adolph and Joe Maione took the 4^th place finish with their largest fish of 19.00 inches, caught by Terry Adolph. Erin Cotham and Jason Nassan had fun day on the river bringing in 57.00 inches and taken 5^th place.

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Aqua Bound Individual Angler Division

The Aqua Bound individual angler division top 5 came down to Jacob Frawley, Tim Perkins, Terry Adolph, Jason Hassan, and Lance Coley. As the field was narrowed down to the top 3, Lance Coley (4^th place) with 46.50 inches and Jason Hassan (5^th place) with 45.00 inches, were asked to step down off the stage. This left Jacob Frawley, Tim Perkins, and Terry Adolph. The crowd already knew that Jacob had a nice stringer from winning the Young River Basser Division, but would it be enough to take home the Aqua Bound Individual division too? He still had to see what Tim Perkins and Terry Adolph had from the day; these are 2 of the tournament trail’s familiar faces. Jacob’s virtual stringer still stands at 48.25 inches from the earlier division. When Tim Perkins came in and gave his memory card to tournament director Brooks Beatty, he said, “I just don’t think it’s going to be enough today, I would’ve had it won but I lost a monster probably around 5 pounds that came off a spinnerbait”. It was evident he was concerned about losing that fish and wondered if it would come back to haunt him. Well it proved good enough to take the lead for now. His total virtual stringer took the lead from Jacob by .50 inches, with a total of 48.75 inches. Up next is Terry Adolph, a seasoned river basser with plenty of good fish to his name. After 2 fish Terry has a competitive length of 29 inches, this means his 3^rd fish has to be a 20 inch fish. When the picture is displayed it is a good kicker fish, but only measured up to 19 inches, leaving him 1 inch shy of the victory and .50 inch shy of tying for 2^nd. These anglers put up some nice fish for an exciting results show and proved that Nashville can do more than crank out some good music!

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Big Fish Award

Jacob Frawley, the Young River Basser Division Winner and 2^nd Place overall, also took home the NuCanoe Big Fish Award with a healthy 19.75 inch Tennessee smallmouth.

Top Female

Out of our 3 female contests Erin Cotham took won the top female honors, collecting a nice prize from Hook1, she also placed 8^th overall.

To view a slide show of all the Nashville photos check out our media gallery.