Brownlee Crappie Shootout 9 results

Thank you to everyone that helped out with the organizing of the BCS 9 and after party. Justin for taking care of the scoring and other paperwork, Dino and the gang for roasting and processing the pig, Sensei Noble and Pat Morinaka for cooking, CJ, Doni, and a long list of other friends and family that helped to make the event a success this year.

Special thanks to the (CASA) Court Appointed Special Advocates of Eastern Oregon representatives, Edna and Aubrey for coming down and taking the time to share what CASA does and how participants can and are helping children in the community.

Also a big thank you to Baker County Travel and TLT grant program for donating funds for the Buckle and Bracelet.

Huge shout out and THANK YOU to all of our generous sponsors that have donated gear to make this event possible. We really appreciate the support and hope to have you back next year.

The week leading up to game day saw a little bit of every kind of weather making pre fishing and finding a pattern a challenge. The winds on Friday were so strong, many of the anglers got together and went morel hunting instead of hitting the water. One of the great things about the venue is that there is so many other activities to do besides fishing. This is why anglers from out of town are extending their stays and turning the event into a family vacation.

Tournament Day

Whoever made a sacrifice to have good weather on tournament day, we salute you.

Nearly 70 anglers started rounding up their kayaks and launching them in to the staging areas at about 5:00am in preparation to leave at 5:30. The winds had thankfully died down to nothing but the temperatures had dipped over night down to freezing and a frosty sugar coating covered everything. This didn't last long and the participants warmed up as soon as the sun rose in a cloudless sky. Absolutely perfect conditions!

The fishing on the Powder River Arm of Brownlee has been tough but this made for an interesting tournament where anything could happen. The veteran anglers were finding their usual spots bare and went on the search for new hunting grounds.

New anglers to the contest had no "go to" spots so they had the advantage of fishing areas that had received less pressure and maybe holding some bigger fish.

The crappie were spread out and averaged 9-10 inches. If you put in time to search out the larger fish in deep water you were rewarded with a larger specimen. Our crappie category winner Brian Beardly did just this and managed a great fish that taped out at 14.25 inches. Along with a prize pack, Brian won a 3D printed light box donated by participant Tom McNamara.

The reports of the SMB clone army moving back in were true and 6 to 8 inch small mouth bass swarmed like piranha as soon as your bait hit the water. Those that moved away or used larger baits did eventually find larger bass for some good points. The category winner Elliot Clouse found a giant among dinks with an 18.75 inch Smallie.

Large mouth bass are always a challenge to find and this year was a perfect example. Swede Pearson won the LMB category with the lone fish at 7.75 inches.

Trout seem to be the unicorn of the list and only 3 were caught this year. All three were landed as by catch while fishing for other species which makes fishing with crossover gear a must. Jim Davis took home the category prize with a bright 17 inch fish.

Blue gill and other panfish were plentiful and anglers found them everywhere. They too were mostly the same size throughout the Powder River Arm and there was a 3 way tie for the largest panfish but Keith Matiskella walked away with the prize.

Perch were either on or off. Some angler could not get away from them and some could not buy one to save their lives. Many Yellow stripes were checked in and James Reeher took broke a tie with a higher over all score for his 12.5 inch yellow.

Quite a few catfish were caught if you took the time to target them with cut bait. The overall size seemed to be larger than last year and our youngest participant, Wyatt Cox, took the category honors with a 29.75 inch tank.

Results:

After trying very hard for the last 8 years Jim Davis came out victorious to win the Brownlee Crappie Shootout 9. This is a tournament that Jim holds in the highest regard and says it is one of the hardest tournament to do well at let along win. He has had many other tournament wins but says this one is special and will wear the commemorative Montana Silversmiths buckle with pride.

Second place went to an angler that didn't even finish the event last year. Worried that Brownlee had broken his will, we were happy to see him pre fishing leading up to the event. On Wednesday he caught all 7 species and on Thursday he caught 6 out of 7 boosting his confidence. This carried over into tournament day where he finished strong in second place using the tactics that worked all week. Congratulations Nick Wetterlind, hope you like the blankey.

Third place is pretty special this year. Kristie Cronin travelled in from North Olympic Peninsula to fish the event and pulled off an epic third place finish. She is the highest placing lady angler in the history of the event and also earned the commemorative Montana Silversmiths Cuff Bracelet to take back to Washington. Fantastic finish Kristie and again, sorry for the towel.

Mack's Lure is a top sponsor for the event so were are able to do some fun side pots such as the Mack's Lure Challenge. Only fish caught using Mack's gear are entered in this category. Either your own gear or the Mack's donated swag bag gear may be used so anglers have a larger range of gear to choose from. Brian Beardsley was the winner of the Mack's Challenge this year with an 11.25 inch smallie. This got him some great gear and a $100 Mack's gift certificate. Brian was using Rigged Glo Hooks tipped with a DMF nightcrawler chunk he received in his swag bag to catch the bass and his blue gill as well.

Another super fun side challenge is the Team Prize where the combined total of both anglers are added together to win a prize. Thank you to Jesse Burgess and his father for donating two custom made camp tables given away as the Team prize. The tables are covered with other sponsored gear to make this prize worth winning.

Participants do not know who they are teamed up with so being helpful to other anglers can really pay off in the end. Congratulations to Randall Breedlove and Constantine Bolo for having the highest team score and winning this awesome prize.

CASA of Eastern Oregon received a donation of over $1900.

Thanks again everyone and hope to see you next year.

Brownlee Crappie Shootout Kayak Fishing Tournament