Wyatt Jigs His Way to Chickamauga Win
Tim Wyatt of Crossville, TN won the Tennessee East division Ram Truck Open Series event at Lake Chickamauga on May 7, 2016. Wyatt weighed in a 24.57 pound limit to win $5000. “I fished down on the lower end all day and only fished about five spots. Most of my bigger ones came from one spot. I was using a jig in 18-20 feet of water,” said Wyatt.
Brian Hatfield of Spring City, TN finished in second place with 21.73 pounds winning $930. “We were in an area down south and I think there was a pretty good shad spawn there this morning. We were fishing shell bars,” said Hatfield.
Greg D. Lamb of Birchwood, TN finished in third place with a total of 21.08 pounds to win $620. “I fished down on the lower end, mostly 18-20 feet deep fishing channel bends and ditches. I lost one good one today, but if you only lose one a day, that’s not too bad,” said Lamb.
Norm Attaway of Clearwater SC brought in a 9.95 pound Chickamauga giant for Big Bass and won $350 from the Big Bass Pot. Attaway used an Abu Garcia reel to catch his Big Bass and was awarded a new Abu Garcia Revo SX reel valued at $159.99 through the Abu Garcia Revo Big Bass Bonus program. “I found her on the bed yesterday and she was still there today. I caught her on a drop shot. It was down near the dam where I found her,” said Attaway.
Top Five Boaters:
1. Tim Wyatt 24.57 $5000
2. Brian Hatfield 21.73 $930
3. Norm Attaway 21.08 $620
4. Steve Barnes 20.76 $434
5. Dale Pelfrey 20.58 $372
There were 35 boaters registered for this Ram Truck Open Series event.
Michael W. McLaurin of Chickamuaga, GA was the co-angler champion of the Ram Truck Open Series event held on May 7, 2016 at the Lake Chickamauga. McLaurin weighed in 18.60 pounds to win $1295. “I started throwing a swimbait this morning and caught two of them early. My third one came about 12:30. Luckily, my boater wasn’t throwing a swimbait, so that left me with some fish to catch. I was using a six inch Scottsboro Tackle Company swimbait. I had a great partner and he put us on some great fish,” said McLaurin.
John Wilkerson of Nashville, TN finished in second place on the co-angler side with 16.44 pounds and he had the co-angler Big Bass, a 9.00 pounder, to win $609. “We targeted deep ledges in around 19-20 feet of water. My boater was throwing moving baits, so I picked up a jig and a big worm. That’s when I started catching my fish. I caught the big fish on a 10 inch worm,” said Wilkerson.
Kyle Gaylon of Bethpage, TN brought in 11.19 pounds to finish in third place and win $304. “I used a 3/8 ounce shakey head in 18-20 feet of water all day long,” said Gaylon.
Top Five Co-anglers:
1. Michael McLaurin 18.60 $1295
2. John Wilkerson(Big Bass) 16.44 $609
3. Kyle Gaylon 11.19 $304
4. Toby Steele 11.15 $212
5. Mike Bowers 8.04 $182
There were 33 co-angler entries for this Ram Truck Open Series event.
Complete results can be found at this link.
For more info on the Tennesee East division of the Ram Truck Open Series visit www.ramopenseries.com call ABA tournament manager, Kristin Malott, at (256) 771-3709. The next Tennessee East event is on July 16, 2016 at Lake Chickamauga.
Ram Truck Open Series anglers can take advantage of the “no boat on boat draw” format along with huge payouts for the 2016 season. First place boaters can win a guaranteed $5000 first place, regardless of number of entries. Payouts will increase to $6000 for the first place boater with a 100 boat field. Over the course of four divisional events and the area championship, anglers will be competing for a spot in the 2017 Ray Scott Championship.
Lots of contingency money is up for grabs during the 2016 Ram Trucks Open Series Series season. Anglers participating in the Triton Gold program can earn up to $7,000 at 2016 divisional events and up to $50,000 at the 2017 Ray Scott Championship. Anglers can also take advantage of other programs such as T-H Marine Atlas Rewards, Power Pole Captain's Cash, Garmin Grand Giveaway, Livingston Lures Cash for Big Bass, Abu Garcia Revo Big Bass Bonus, Maui Jim Bonus, and Mercury/Motorguide bonus money.
American Bass Anglers, Inc. is supported by Ram Trucks, Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Carlisle Tires, GEICO, Berkley, Abu Garcia, T-H Marine, Hydrowave, Livingston Lures, Best Western Hotels, Maui Jim, Power Pole, Dr. Dan's, Garmin, and Simms Bass. American Bass Anglers, Inc. can be contacted at (256) 232-0406 or by visiting americanbassanglers.com.
