Grand Ol’ Catch : Siloam angler reels in $21,000
Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2008
Siloam Springs resident James Humphrey doesn' have to worry about his fishing expenses for the coming year.
On June 28-29, Humphrey collected $ 21, 000 for his first-place finish in the Big Bass Bash / Anglers in Action Tournament held at Grand Lake in Grove, Okla.
Along with his partner, David Powlowski, the dynamic duo split the earnings with each receiving $ 10, 500.
"Now I can help pay for my wife's expenses to attend dental hygenie school," Humphrey said.
"Plus, a lot of my fishing expenses will now be taken care of, which include my entry fees and boat pay ments."
Humphrey caught his prize-winning 6. 47-pound large mouth bass at approximately noon on June 28.
The Cobb lab specialist said he used a chartreuse and blue Bill Norman DD 22 crankbait to reel in his lunker "I was pretty surprised," Humphrey said. "You never know what to expect."
Humphrey added that the weather was pretty over cast, rainy and even saw a cold-front pass through.
"On Sunday, the coldness burned off and we had blue bird skies," he said. "I was able to catch a lot of 3- and 4 pound fish but nothing that was weighable."
Humphrey's 6. 47-pound bass was weighed in at 1 p.m. June 28 and held on for the first-place finish through final weigh-in on June 29.
"I thought if we played our cards right, we would for sure get hourly but never thought it would hold up for the weekend," Humphrey said. "The other day, an 8-pound bass won the Triton / Skeeter tournament at Grand Lake."
Grand Lake, which is higher than normal, according to Humphrey, is still producing good-size bass at all depths.
"We (myself and David ) like to fish the shallows and stay off the banks," Humphrey said.
Humphrey continued that his passion for bass fishing started in 1994 following his senior year of high school.
"I got involved with a friend of mine, who at the time was working for Webb Wheel and just fishing local tournaments," Humphrey said. "He (Jason Vaughn ) wanted the bass boat, and I went on to college.
"The local tournaments, in my opinion, are a lot more fun because you can keep your family alive and still keep the competitiveness going, too."
The winners of each weigh-in every two hours during the tournament won $ 1, 000, and an additional $ 20, 000 was awarded to the overall winner.
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