Anglers and boats are readied for tournaments at Charles Fork Lake
Anglers from across the region showed up for the Labor Day weekend fishing tournaments at Charles Fork Lake in Roane County as part of the City of Spencer's 150th birthday celebration.
An evening catfish tournament was held Saturday from 8-midnight. A morning bass tournament was be held Monday, September 1 from 6 to 11 a.m. First prize in each tournament was $150 and a plaque.
Tournament Director Toby Wagoner said, "We're excited about the chance to showcase Charles Fork Lake as a great place for recreation and fishing as part of the City of Spencer's continuing birthday celebration."
Wagoner said, "This year we wanted to expand a simple bass tournament into a weekend filled with fishing fun. We had over 20 anglers from Roane, Calhoun, Wirt, and Kanawha Counties compete in the tournaments and a dock full of kids."
Dense fog hampered anglers returning to docks
Catfish Results
There was no winner in Saturday's catfish tournament. Dense fog caused many anglers to not be able to get back to the docks by the end of the tournament, said Wagoner. Several did not leave the lake until around 2 a.m., the tourney ended at midnight.
The catfish that didn't count. Ed Powell of Elizabeth landed
this 22 pound catfish during the start of the bass tourney
Anglers that did return within the tournament deadline reported difficulty navigating the fog and unable to see their lines even with a light-up bobbin. Since there was no winner, the $150 prize money was rolled over into the bass tournament on Monday. Ironically, a huge 22 pound catfish was caught during the bass tournament. Unfortunately it didn't count.
Bass Results
The singles largest catch was actually small but it netted a $300 cash prize, which included the rollover from the catfish tourney. The winner was Harry Sutton 50 of Newton. His catch weighing 1 pound-6 ounces was just enough to surpass the other two fish weight.
Several anglers reported losing a big catch during the reeling.
Bass Tournament winner Harry Sutton (center) of Newton
shown here with Tournament Director Toby Wagoner (left)
and Spencer City Councilman David Holland (right)
Derby Results
Eight children and 8 adults lined the dock to compete in the first-ever Charles Fork Lake Youth Fishing Derby. Both six-year-old Ryan Smith of Newton with 9 fish, and two-and-a-year old Madison Hall of Spencer with 3 fish were named winners and won bicycles for their efforts.
Ryan Smith and his dad Travis (left) are awarded a bicycle,
plaque and large pizza as the boys fishing derby winner by City Councilman David Holland and Sergent Mikel Harper of the Spencer City Police Department. Madison Hall, her dad Joe Hall and mom Melissa Glasspell are also awarded a bicycle, plaque and large pizza as the girls fishing derby winner.
Sponsors for the tournament were the City of Spencer, Houchin Construction, Minnie Hamilton Health System, Wal-Mart, Mr. and Mrs. William Truss, Roane General, McDonald's, Family Health Care, WVRC, Kerby Insurance, Pizza Hut, John Taylor Funeral Home, Michael and Martha Truss.
Proceeds from the event benefit Love and Kindness ministries who promises to host more recreational opportunities for the community.
See
loveandkindnesschurch.com
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