Issue #6 - the Magnolia Crappie Club

Lake Washington
Can you believe it; we only have three more tournaments
to go before our championship. Man, time flies when you’re crappie
fishing. Somebody has gotten the word out. Magnolia Crappie Club
had a record turnout for a club tournament. Twenty-five (25) years
of putting on crappie tournaments and we’ve reach the 60 team
level. Guess what? We had several regular teams that couldn’t fish
Washington for some unknown reason. All I can tell you is “Don’t
stand on the track because the MCC Train is coming”.
The winning team of Johnny Walker and William Clark
get all my compliments. I must tell you I had some of the credit for
this win. I loaned Johnny two (2) 18 feet B’n’M Pro Staff Trolling
Poles. According to Johnny, every fish came on those poles. “I had
two (2) 18 feet poles and William had four (4); the other two were
16 feet B’nM PST’s. Every time we got a bite it was one of those
poles”, said Walker. “We had a combination of Slater Jigs and small
minnows. I found those fish on Friday, up on the north end of the
lake. We caught our fish next to John Harrison and his partner Brad
I asked Johnny what was the one single thing he did that
Taylor. We could have weighed another 14 pounds, we caught
made
the
difference? “The night before, I asked John Harrison to
about 18 fish.”
rig my poles for shallow water. He took B’n’M Minnow Rigs in ¼
Johnny says, “When it’s your day, nothing can stop you,
ounce size and cut about 8 inches off the bottom dropper and renot even you.” You could not ask for a more deserving team to
tied the hook. Later that night I changed the top hook to a Slater
win. Johnny has put his time on the water. Being an old bass fisherJig. I put the smallest minnow in the bucket on that hook. We
man, he knows what it takes to win. He also knows how to be a
caught 80% of our fish on that jig.” Johnny, you may have caused
good looser; you never see him get a bad attitude. He’ll always conthe Slater Jig hangers in bait shops to become empty.
gratulate the winners. That’s what I call a good winner.
Clark, being the much youngest of the team is the eyes
and ears of the team. Walker says, “That Will can really see the bite.
If the bite is on my side he’ll call a number. We have our poles
numbered from left to right. He calls a number and gets the net; I
set the hook and he nets the fish. We did that all day long.” Whoever said crappie fishing was an individual effort need to take lessons
from these guys.
Now it’s on to the Hog Pen, that’s what I call Grenada. I
call it that for two reason, (1) the fish are the largest in the country
and (2) the water is so muddy you could plant corn on the surface.
Last year the MCC record was broken twice within 10 minutes. Lets
see what this year holds.
Be Safe & Have a Blessed Day,
Bernard Williams, Vice-President & Editor
Lake Washington Winners - 2nd—5th
Brad Taylor & John Harrison as usual, wasn’t
far behind the leaders with 15.16#’s and a big fish at
2.60#’s. These guys have fished hard all year long and
they took the points lead by 5.34#’s over their rivals,
Moss and Calhoun. If I were a betting man, I would
put my money on these guys.
Since we’re moving to North MS COE Lakes, I
personally think we’ll all be fishing for 2nd place; but
who knows, it’s always hard to win on your home lake.
Mainly because there’s too many places known to hold
good fish. The problem is, you’ve got to settle on one
or two places and fish them hard.
Brad Chappell pulled out a ringer, Greg Ladner
from the coast. Greg and Ginger Ladner were regulars
with MCC until their jobs required more of their time.
This team should have won, considering Brad caught
most of their fish within 100 yards of his cabin. I knew
where those fish were; I keep kicking myself for not
moving to that spot.
They weighed 15.14#’s and quit around 12:30
with battery problems. I told him to get a 112# motor,
naw, an 80# would do according to Mr. Chappell. I
keep telling him to listen to the ole man. I don’t know
everything but I do know bigger is better.
Jason Price and Tosh Manning, no relation to
Archie, Payton or Eli, finished 4th with 15.04#’s. This
new team from Hoxie, AR, showed us how it’s supposed to be done. This was their 1st MCC Tournament
but I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of team Tosh and
Manning.
Ok guys, up next will be Big Bad Grenada,
known world wide for monster slabs. Y’all better have
your hooks sharp and the biggest minnows you can
find. Arkansas is known for it’s minnow farms; better
go get you some straight from the factory. You guys
are in the scope site, it’s gonna be tough finding a spot
by yourselves. We’re going to watching y’all.
Terry Stewart and Larry Holmes weighed
13.96#’s to finish out the top five. These ole country
boys are no strangers to MCC and the top five. This is
their first year as a team and they’ve garnered the title of
“Newly Weds”.
I don’t get it. Both these guys have beautiful
wives and happily married. I just can’t envision Terry
trading his beautiful eye doctor for Larry, PEW! I can’t
see Larry trading a great wife and awesome cook for
someone that can’t boil an egg.
Grenada is where Larry laid the wood to us last
year. I think that beginners luck has worn off. Both
teams finished in the top five last fall at Crappie Masters.
I know they’re going to be ready, but I’m going to be
pretty close by.
Lake Washington Big Fish Winners
Big Fish Winner—Steve Clark & Jimmy Riley—2.69#’s
2nd Place Big Fish—Patrick Stone & Trevor Costlow - 2.68#’s
From the Tournament Director’s Desk - Michael Nowell
60 boats!!! That's a new record for a regular MCC club tournament! Just think about it.
Johnny Walker and Will Clark had to beat out 59 other teams to win their first MCC tournament.
Way to go "Cat" and Will. Next time try not to make the rest of us look like amateurs.
I want to say thank you to all the board members who helped with the boat checks. You
did such an awesome job to make it go so smoothly. Hopefully we can keep this going for the next
tournaments as they should be the biggest of the year.
Next up we are headed to Grenada Lake. The number 1 ranked crappie lake in the country. This will be our first of two Big Mama tournaments this season. We will be running the Big Mama Open simultaneously with the MCC Club tournament as usual. For you new comers, this means
you can fish either one tournament or both tournaments at the same time. The Big Mama Open is
"open" to the public. You do not have to be a member of the club to fish it. You will weigh your
ONE big fish for this tournament. If you would like to fish the MCC Club tournament as well you will
need to pay a $50 membership per member.
Michael Nowell—Tournament Director
War Eagle Boats will be cooking for us again Friday evening at the Grenada Landing Pavilion for the registration. Make plans to be there. You not only need to receive the overview of the
rules, but you certainly do not want to miss out on the best meal you can for FREE!!! If you can not make it Friday evening there will
be a short registration Saturday morning at the landing. But please try to make the Friday registration because if we have good weather this could be a really big tournament and it takes time. Nobody wants to be late getting to their fishing spot come Saturday mourning.
Registration: Friday 5:00 PM with dinner to follow @ Grenada Lake Pavilion
Late Registration: Saturday 5:00 AM @ Grenada Lake Pavilion
BOAT CHECK Saturday 5:00 AM @ Grenada Lake Landing
Start Fishing Time: 7:00 AM Stop Fishing Time: 2:00 PM
Weigh In @ Grenada Lake Pavilion
Weigh In line closes at 3:00 PM. You must have your weigh ticket turned in by 3:00 PM
***PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR EXPENSE FORM—THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SHOW OUR EVENT’S ECONOMIC BENEFIT.
The Weigh-Master’s– Terry Stewart
A great turnout, great weather, great fishing and great
friends we had at Lake Washington! It doesn’t get much better
than that. The bite was good for some and not as good for others but no doubt Lake Washington is a fantastic fishery on our
trail. We have to be thankful for the crappie lakes we have in
Mississippi.
Up next is one of our favorites Grenada Lake! Please try
your best to keep your weigh fish alive as they will be released
back into the lake. Let’s enjoy this spring time fishing while it’s
here because it won’t last long! Try to take a kid fishing and
we’ll see you at Grenada!
Terry Stewart, Weigh‐Master MCC Terry
From the President’s Desk - Brad Taylor
Lake Washington—What a way to start the spring!!
Congrats to MCC on a new regular season record
without being a Big Mama, 60 Boats. That is awesome and shows how the sport of tournament crappie fishing and MCC is growing. I like to WELCOME all the new teams and members. We’re
pleased to have you; if you have any questions,
please feel free to contact me or any BOD member.
I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to the team
of Johnny “Cat” Walker and William Clark on an
outstanding performance and win. They weighed
15.26#’s to beat out the other 59 teams. That’s a
super weight on a day when the big fish didn’t want
to bite. Looks like William and Cat had them all figured out. Great job once again men!
Brad Taylor, President MCC ATTENTION– The MCC board decided on the location for this years MCC State Championship. It
will be held on Grenada Lake on June 10th & 11th. Hope to see all of you there. Be sure to get your
Splash for Cash tickets from Jeremy.
Up next is Grenada Lake on March 19th. This is a regular season tournament and a Big Mama all in
one. It should be some real PIGs caught. Mike Ward and Nick Carter from War Eagle Boats will be
cooking Friday night again for the registration so make plans to be there, you won’t regret it!
See ya on the water!
Brad
Secretary / Treasurer - Paula Nowell
Washington Lake, we all know that is my favorite
lake. It never ceases to Amaze me of how many Big Fish
come out of that lake each year. Although there were no
3 pounders this tournament, there still was some very
impressive weights.
Congratulations to Johnny (Cat) Walker & William Clark
on the 1st place finish, very well Deserved. We also had
60 teams with 14 new teams for this tournament, how
exciting is that….. I would like to welcome all our new
teams and returning older teams, I am looking forward
to seeing you all at Grenada. Next up our Big Mama @
Grenada Lake….The weather permitting this too should
be a Great tournament… Paula
Paula Nowell, Secretary / Treasurer Getting Schooled in Pushing Soft-Plastics
By Bernard Williams, Outdoor Writer
Several weeks ago, I got a chance to fish
with Professional Crappie Guide Warren Cotton
on Grenada Lake. This was an unplanned guide
trip; I arrived at the lake with all intentions of
fishing the day alone. Cotton pulls up and offers
to take me out, we’re good friends and those offers don’t come every day. I quickly locked up
my equipment and joined
him in his big Ranger.
ing to emulate. I want to fish just below where I
see the shad balls. Today they’re around the 10’
to 11’ range; we’ll be trolling our baits around
12’. Since it’s early in the day, it should be productive”.
When I’m fishing with someone I always let them
be the captain; I just get in and
fish. Warren knows Grenada as
good as anyone I know; it didn’t
I asked Cotton what
take long after we got the poles
The Crappie Minnr in the 2” size is a
would we use, “We’ll start
new shape from Big Bite
out for us to start catching fish. But
with the Big Bite Crappie
before we started fishing, he did his
Minnr, in the 2” size. It’s an
side and down scanning. When the area looked
excellent cold water bait. During the winter
right I could hear Cotton say, “We’ll start here,
months crappie are lethargic, they sit and wait
this area is holding quite a few bait fish. I know
for shad to fall down and out of the schools.
the crappie are not far away”. Warren uses the
Shad bunch up during this time strictly for prohigh-end Lowrance Touch Systems; the HDS
tection. When they’re attacked by predator fish
like crappie, some get injured in the process and Gen2 Touch 12 and 10. These units show great
fall below the school. These are the ones I’m try- target separation. Continued …..
Magnolia Crappie Club Sponsors
Sponsor
MCC Team
Current Thru
Sponsorship Level
City of Batesville
Jeremy Aldridge /Clint Egbert
2/1/2016
ULTIMATE SPONSOR
Grenada County Tourism
City of Ridgeland
Millennium Marine
Academy Sports
B & M Pole Company
Elite Optical
Handcock Mechanical
Lauderdale Country Tourism
Lucas Oil Products, Inc.
PRADCO / Bandit Lures
Washington Co. Tourism
Yazoo Co Tourism
Silent Stalker
Cannon Chevrolet
Dunlap & Kyle (Gateway Tires)
Factory Direct Furniture
Kirk Auto Company
Performance Marine, LLC
Rankin First Economic Development
Taylor Made Labels, Inc.
American Angler Knives / Douglas Quikut
Backland Taxidermy
Chicky Tackle Co. (Rockport Rattler)
City of Vicksburg
Counce Marine
Emmett's Marine, Inc
Gene Larew Lures
JBS Fishing, LLC (Vicious)
Memphis Truck.Com
Morgan’s Stripping Services
Performance Marine, LLC
Slaters Jigs, Inc
Super Jr Grocery
Tite Lok/Black Hawk
TLC Marine
Dry Dock Bar & Grill
Enid Lakeside Store
Hambones Cabin Rentals
Scott Petroleum Corporation
The Dam Store
333 Restaurant
49 Tire & Auto
Ayers Delta, Inc
B’s Grocery
Backland Taxidermy
Bank of Commerce
BFMW Group CPA
Caruthers Marine, LLC
Collins Bait & Tackle
MidSouth Tackle
Don Bass Insurance Agency
East Side Motel
Eastside Planning Group
RJ’s Outboard Service
Greenwood Nursery & Boat
Tommy Moss / Les Smith
10/1/2015
ULTIMATE SPONSOR
Bernard Williams / Don Terry
Les / A.E. Smith
Paul Johnson
Kent Driscoll / John Harrison
Terry / Tonya Stewart
Richard Sanders / William Typer
Mike Nowell / Paula Nowell
Kent Driscoll / John Harrison
Brad Taylor
Ken Middleton / Larry Nipper
Charles Lindsay / Charles Lindsay, Jr
Jeremy Aldridge / Clint Egbert
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker / Jeremy Aldridge
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Roger / Katie Womack
Tommy Moss / Brad Calhoun
Roger / Katie Womack
Kent Driscoll / John Harrison
Michael / Paula Nowell
Kent Driscoll / John Harrison
Bernard Williams / Don Terry
Chaney Starnes
Jimmy / Ricky Smith
Brad Chappell / Steve White
Hugh Krutz / Steve Stevenson
Chaney Starnes
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Ken Middleton / Larry Nipper
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Roger / Katie Womack
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Mike Nowell / Paula Nowell
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Vic Finkley / Kim Gray
Roger / Katie Womack
Johnny Walker
Larry Fortenberry
Roger / Katie Womack
Johnny Walker
12/2/2016
12/2/2017
8/11/2017
2/27/2016
8/14/2016
6/9/2016
11/4/2016
2/3/2017
8/21/2016
2/6/2015
10/16/2015
1/20/2017
9/8/2016
12/1/2016
8/18/2016
7/22/2016
10/1/2015
5/19/2016
9/4/2/015
9/10/2016
3/21/2016
3/3/2016
12/2/2016
7/20/2016
8/11/2016
6/4/2016
12/19/2015
8/25/2016
9/8/2016
9/18/2016
11/21/2015
11/21/2015
11/19/2015
8/25/2016
8/6/2016
9/7/2016
8/20/2016
8/20/2016
8/20/2016
7/31/2016
9/8/2016
7/31/2016
7/31/2016
3/21/2016
8/44/2016
7/31/2016
2/4/2016
7/31/2016
11/14/2015
10/30/2016
7/31/2016
10/28/2016
2/19/2017
7/31/2016
EVENT / PLATINUM SPONSOR
EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR
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Magnolia Crappie Club - Sponsors
Sponsor
MCC Team
Current Thru
Sponsorship Level
Ivy’s Marine Service, LLC
Don Terry / Bernard Williams
3/21/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Jake & Rips
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Vic’s Bait & Tackle
Vick Finkley / Kim Gray
1/1/2017
PATRON SPONSOR
KAJCP Parts & Auto
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Lawrence Printing
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Leflore Hardware Inc
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Lo Sto
Johnny Walker
12/15/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Mid Delta Auction Company
Johnny Walker
2/26/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Midway Appliance Repair, LLC
Roger / Katie Womack
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Pap's Restaurant
Johnny Walker
3/20/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Roy's Store
Ken Middleton / Larry Nipper
10/6/2015
PATRON SPONSOR
Service Auto Parts, Inc
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Spencers Dairy Kream
John Harrison / Brad Taylor
10/16/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
The Chuck Stop
Jeremy Aldridge /Clint Egbert
10/6/2015
PATRON SPONSOR
The Crystal Grill
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
The Prop Shop
Don Terry / Bernard Williams
3/21/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Thompson Auto Repair
Michael / Paula Nowell
12/15/2015
PATRON SPONSOR
Trustmark National Bank
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Wade Inc.
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Yore Country Store
Johnny Walker
7/31/2016
PATRON SPONSOR
Continued…..
Here’s something I noticed about his trolling style, he keeps his hands on his poles while they’re in the
rod rack. Oh, by the way, he uses those high-end Driftmaster Stalkers. When asked why he places his hand
on the rods, his response was, “Pushing Big Bite jigs produce lots bites, and some are so delicate you can
barely see the rod or line move. I use my sense of touch as well as my sense of feel to increase my bite detection.” As he was saying that he immediately set the hook on a crappie. I was carefully watching all the pole
tips and I never saw the bite. That was truly amazing. I just wondered how many bites I miss by not using
both of my senses.
I watched another trick Cotton uses, his rod holders are about 5 inches above his knees. He gets down
to pole level and watches his poles at eye level. I asked Warren, is that necessary? His response was, “I tournament fish a lot, I only have to catch 7 fish. I want my 7 to be the biggest 7 fish of the day. The only way to
do that with 6 or 8 poles is to make every bite count. I can see at least 6 of the 8 poles when I get down to
eye level. I can see the up bite; that’s when a fish grabs the lure and swims up. I immediately see the pole tip
rise up a little. I know it’s a fish and it’s time to set the hook.
The bite that day was generally slow, however we managed to trick 16 crappie over 12”. We had
about 4 that reached the 15” to 16” range. Not bad for a day when other fishermen were leaving emptyhanded. It wasn’t the fish that Warren was after, it was the fishing experience. When you put a writer with a
great fisherman, both come away with a new understanding of the sport of crappie fishing.
Here’s a list of the equipment Warren used and all products can be purchase at your local Academy or
www.academy.com:






B’n’M 14’ BGJP Trolling Poles
10# P-Line – Hi Vis
Big Bite Baits – 2” Minnr
Driftmaster Stalker Rod Holders
Ego Nets – S2 Slider Net
B’n’M Double Minnow Rigs with Big Bite’ 2” Minnr and Jig Heads.
15/16 Tournament Season
Regular Tournaments
MCC Governing Board 2015-16
President, Brad Taylor
662-820-4581
Vice President, Bernard Williams
601-454-0196
Sec/Treasurer, Paula Nowell
601-917-1787
Sep 19
Sardis Lake
Oct 24
Grenada Lake
Nov 14
Wolf Lake
Tournament Dir., Michael Nowell
601-917-1787
Dec 12
Chotard/Eagle
Weigh-Master, Terry Stewart
601-502-5699
Jan 16
Okatibbee
Imm Past President Kenneth Middleton
662-907-4080
Feb 27
Washington
Director 2016 - Jimmy Smith
601-757-1142
Mar 19
Grenada Lake & BMO
Director 2016 - John Harrison
662-983-5999
Apr 16
Barnett BMO
Director 2016 - Charles Lindsay
601-624-6348
Enid
Director 2017 - Tommy Moss
601-260-6267
TBA
Director 2017 - Paul Johnson
601-624-0359
Director 2017 - Rod Womack
601-942-8907
Director 2018– Johnny Walker
662-897-4639
Director 2018 - Vic Finkley
662-417-8690
Director 2018 - Jeremy Aldridge
662-934-7800
May 14
June 12-13
Finals
Minimum participation level for Post-Season qualification is to enter 7 tournaments and earn at least
90 points. You get 10 points for entering and 1
point per pound of weighed in fish.
Using Planner Boards for Crappie
By Bernard Williams, Outdoor Writer
I did my research, there were scores of different planer boards to choose and there were
many sizes to choose from. I did what most fishermen do when they’re trying to learn a new technique. I purchased a few different styles and sizes
of boards until I finally settled on my style of
board. It was the Stealth Planer. I liked it for one
reason. I didn’t have to buy new planer board
When the fish get scattered and spooky, I
poles. The big planner boards require a heavy duty
could see my catch ratio continue to get smaller
pole; they put lots of pressure on the rod and rod
and smaller each time I fished. One day I came
across an article about using planer boards for wall- tip.
My favorite feature of the Stealth Planer is I
eye. I started to read everything I could find about
walleye fishermen, how they could go out in those don’t need a partner to remove the board when I
massive impoundments and catch large sacks of
reel in the fish. In other words, I can fight the fish
walleye.
and not the board. When the fish strikes, someThis was about the same time when Tommy times it will cause the board to release or I set the
hook and it releases. The board simply slides back
Skarlis and Kyle Stieneldt came down to Grenada
and beat the snot out of us using Off Shore Planer to the swivel that’s attached to the leader.
Boards. These walleye pros beat us like we stole
Continued ……..
something. Crappie are no different, they have the
exact same tendencies and patterns.
I want to begin by saying you don’t have to
be a Yankee to use planer boards for crappie. Before the Crappie Masters 2013 most of us southern
boys would laugh at the idea of using something so
outlandish. My major problem with using planer
boards was I don’t need them to catch our crappie,
so I thought. Boy was I wrong!
Continued ….
The Board Setup
The Leader Setup:
10ft B’n’M BrushCutter Jig Pole
Okuma – CW-345D – Cold Water Low Profile Line Counter Reel.
Spyder-Loc Rod Holders
20# Vicous Braid or 10# Vicous Mono
1 – Size 5 Swivel
6ft - 8# Vicous Mono for leader
.5 oz Egg sinker
2 - ¼ oz Original Road Runners
Bobby Garland Stroll-R’s in your favorite colors
Here’s how I connect the dots:
I place the bead on the line and tie the swivel to the line, either mono or braid.
I pull off approximately 6 feet of mono an attach it to the opposite end of the swivel.
I slide a road runner up the line to about 2 feet from the swivel and tie a 6 inch loop knot attaching
the 1st road runner.
I attach the egg sinker 2 feet below the road runner.
Finally I attach a road runner to the end of the line with a 3 in loop knot.
Deploying the Planer Board: (Say I want to fish approximately 12 feet)
Drop the rig to the end of the 10’ B’n’M BrushCutter Rod, if I want to fish 12’ deep, I need approximately 16’ of line to the planer board.
Since the distance from the reel to the 1st guide on the rod is approximately 2’, I need to make 3 –
2’ pulls.
I attach the board and put the line in the tension release.
I flip the reel release and let my board float out to the distance desired.
I like my boards approximately 50’, 40’, 30’ and 20’ away from the boat on each side of the boat.
Each rod is placed in the Spyder-Loc Rodholders. Continued……..
Continued……..
I selected the BrushCutter rod because of its tip
action and backbone, it allows for an excellent
hookset and board release. When the fish strikes
sometimes it will cause the board to release, other
times you have to set the hook to make the board
release.
cellent control when reeling in the fish and board.
The low profile feature is a perfect combination for
pulling these boards. Once you get the spread, the
linecounter allows you to put it in the exact location
next time.
Using this setup I can fish soft plastics or live
bait. When fishing live bait I substitute No. 2 TruTurn red hooks for the Road Runners. The Tru-Turn
I tested several other rods and found these
boards could be pulled with either Pro Staff Trolling hooks are perfect for attaching #6 live shiners and
fishing slow during colder months.
pole or BrushCutter rod.
The Okuma CW-345D Linecounter allows for ex-
Here is my depth chart:
Speed
Fishing Depth
Board Attached Distance
# of 2ft Pulls
1mph
1mph
.8mph
.8mph
.5mph
.5mph
12’
14’
12’
14’
12’
14’
16’
18’
15’
16’
14’
15’
3
4
2.5
3
2
2.5