HENDERSON, Ark. – The team of Ryan Patterson and Mark Gower edged out a pair of fishermen from Salem, Ark., for top prize at the fourth annual Casting for Kids Bass Classic on Lake Norfork on Saturday, April 5. Patterson and Gower netted a total of five bass for a weight of 17.29 pounds to best a field of 74 teams. Patterson, of Flippin, Ark., and Gower, of Mountain Home, Ark., also placed a fish fifth in the running for Big Bass, awarded to the heaviest fish caught during the tournament, with a weight of 4.95 pounds. For finishing first overall, Patterson and Gower earned a cash prize of $1,000.
The haul of Leon Newberry and Darrell Stuart of Salem was .18 pounds less than the winning duo for second place with 17.105 pounds. The pair were about the same weight behind Patterson and Gower in the Big Bass rankings with a weight of 4.935. The Salem fishermen earned $500 for second place.
With a load of just under 17 pounds (16.94), the team of Tim Burnley of Mountain Home and Eli Powers of Yellville, Ark., finished in third place for $250. Bob Foster and Willie McCord -- another pair of Salem fishermen — claimed fourth place and $125 with 16.465 pounds. In fifth place, Troy Lackey and Bill Roberts of Gassville, Ark., had 16.39 pounds for $80 and finished second in Big Bass (6.675 pounds).
With a whopper of a bass (6.88 pounds), Derek Dyke of Lakeview, Ark., and Bill Davis of Yellville, claimed the Big Bass prize of an Ascend D-10 kayak, donated by sponsor Fin to Fur Wholesale of Thayer, Mo.
Proceeds from the Casting for Kids Bass Classic benefit Children’s Homes, Inc. Gary Cupp, Children’s Homes, Inc. Director of Development, considered Saturday’s tournament a great success despite a dip in participation from last year’s tournament.
"Although our numbers were down slightly from last year, I am very pleased with this year’s tournament," Cupp said. "I’ve received calls and messages from several of our fishermen that were very complimentary on how well they felt it was organized, how things flowed, the quality and value of the grab bags and drawing prizes and the general feel for the higher cause -- taking care of needy children."
Cupp said the effort of volunteers and sponsors was what made the tournament run so smoothly.
"I’m very proud of our volunteer staff and children in how hard they worked and how well they worked together," he said. "And, our sponsors really came through in helping with overhead expenses and product donations that gave our fishermen a sense of ‘winning,’ even if they didn’t have luck out on the water."
Cash prizes were provided by sponsor Sunshine Distributing of Paragould, Ark.
Place Fishermen # of fish weight of fish (pounds)
1. Ryan Patterson, Mark Gower 5 17.29
2. Leon Newberry, Darrell Stuart 5 17.105
3. Tim Burnely, Eli Powers 5 16.94
4. Bob Foster, Willie McCord 5 16.465
5. Troy Lackey, Bill Roberts 5 16.39
6. Nathan Fuselier, Ed Fuselier 5 16.04
7. Mike Crosby, Charles Thompson 5 15.145
8. Randy Rose, Stan Risley 4 13.82
9. Tony Moser, Randy Zeigler 5 13.125
10. Dennis Gregory, Greg Langley 5 12.99
11. Daniel Liles, Jim Brown 5 12.925
12. Jerry Aycock, Pat Britton 5 11.73
13. Scott Adams, Ron Adams 5 11.58
14. John Fink, Tim Clyne 5 11.565
15. Jacob Garrett, Tom Salmeri 5 11.35
16. Jamie Camp, Mason Camp 4 11.34
17. Ken Collins, David Collins 5 11.17
18. Scott Faulkner, Daniel Busch 5 10.90
19. Wesley Rogers, Billy Madden 5 10.89
20. Steve Doty, Jeff Cooper 5 10.34
21. Don Harvey, Hazel Harvey 5 10.23
22. Nick Coleman, Ted Kerley 4 9.635
23. Tommy Dunning, Lanny Dooley 5 9.33
24. Allan Colton, Adam Wells 5 9.06
25. Derrick Dyke, Bill Davis 2 9.03
26. Douglas Overstreet, Janie Roberts 4 8.9
27. Bill Johnson, Vickie Johnson 4 8.53
28. Brian Sherrill, Jesse Willis 5 8.27
29. Scott Koplin, Allen Comfert 4 8.265
30. Verlin Cotter, Chris Page 4 8.17
31. Jay Duncan, Corey Brawley 4 7.895
32. Bill Poe, Tommy Swindle 4 7.89
33. Gene Bridges, Danny Bridges 4 7.585
34. Robbie Graves, Mike Lawrence 3 7.16
35. Aaron Broderick, Nathan Mooney 3 6.59
36. Dennis Roam, Ken Dangman 3 6.275
37. Jason Johnson, Kilian Moser 2 5.36
38. Eugene Gunter, Tony Gunter 1 5.3
39. Micah Tindell, Callee French 2 4.66
40. Christopher Dollard 2 4.185
41. Mickey Pendergrass, Hank Lawrence 2 4.095
42. Jeffery Williams, Keith Gatlin 2 3.33
Big Bass
Place Fishermen weight of best bass (pounds)
1. Derrick Dyke, Bill Davis 6.88
2. Troy Lackey, Bill Roberts 6.675
3. Eugene Gunter, Tony Gunter 5.3
4. Randy Rose, Stan Risley 5.035
5. Ryan Patterson, Mark Gower 4.95
6. Leon Newberry, Darrell Stuart 4.935
7. Dennis Gregory, Greg Langley 4.6
8. Nathan Fuselier, Ed Fuselier 3.85
9. Mike Crosby, Charles Thompson 3.71
10. Jerry Aycock, Pat Britton 3.39
Note: 33 other fishermen registered and either opted not to participate or not to weigh in.
