The Clarke County Forestry and Wildlife Festival Bass Tournament brought out fourteen boats for an early morning start on Sept. 29, 2007. The field included boats from all parts of Clarke County, Laurel, Yazoo City, and Millry, Ala.

Fishing is always thought to be a relaxing time on the water just letting the day slip by. However, a day of tournament fishing is hard work. Every fisherman is trying to get that one big bass that will make them the best fisherman for the day.

A couple of boats caught one of those big fish. The big bass winner was taken by the team of Chad Avera and Bobby Williams with a bass weighing 4.54 lbs. The fish was huge and most were surprised that it did not weigh more.

The second big bass was caught by the winners of the bass tournament. It weighed 4.32 lbs. which gave the boat team of Jason Boykin and Phillip Boykin a total fish weight of 7.14 lbs. Congratulations to Jason and Phillip for winning the tournament. It was a hard day of fishing for just the right size with no one bringing the limit to the scales.

Tom Mayatt and Andy Mayatt finished in 2nd place with 5.68 lbs. and their largest bass weighed over three pounds. The 3rd place winners were Chad Avera and Bobby Williams as they added one more small fish to the large bass and weighed in 5.45 lbs. The 4th place winners were Earl Sanders and Tony White with a total weight of 4.16 lbs. The 5th place winners were Curt Shumock and Jeremy Wilkins with 3.35 lbs.

The tournament paid five places with the payout coming from 50 percent of the entry fees. Of course, this only means that more boats will result in a larger pay out for the teams. Watch for our future tournaments and come join the competition at Archusa Water Park.

The Clarke County Chamber of Commerce sincerely appreciates all the fishermen for getting up early and coming to the lake to watch the sun come up for a day of fishing. A big “Thank-you” to Mickey Long for sending the boats out in the morning and weighing the fish at the end of the tournament!