Page 4 - Crappie NOW - December 2017
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How the Winners Fished. It’s All About Man-Made Structure
by Ron Presley
good year class on Barkley of 15 ½ to 16
Crappie tournaments always offer ½ inch fish.”
a challenge of one kind or another. This Barkley did shine in 2017. Most high
year’s Crappie USA (CUSA) Classic placing teams, in both the Semi-Pro and
on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes was no Amateur Divisions, fished on Barkley
different. A cold front moved in to test the Lake and they fished over structure that
skills of competing anglers with rain, wind they had made and placed themselves.
and cold temperatures.
The 2017 Cabela’s Crappie USA Semi-Pro Division: The Winning Strategy
Classic began its third decade of providing When crappie anglers talk about
crappie anglers with a year ending fishing structure in Kentucky/Barkley lakes
championship. The trail has provided they may be fishing brush piles, pallets,
anglers, sponsors and communities with commercially made artificial trees, stake
crappie fishing opportunities for 21 years. beds or other sunken wonders. The semi-
This year’s CUSA Classic featured 370 pro winners and runners up at this year’s
anglers from 15 states competing for a CUSA Classic are much more specific.
total prize packet of more than $126,000. When they are fishing structure, they are
This year, as in years past, the fishing man-made stake beds.
anglers stepped up to the challenge and
delivered plenty of crappies to the scales.
Some teams reported catching more than
200 fish during the two-day event. The “Occasionally you have a year
challenge was not to find fish, but to find like this one when Barkley is
big fish. hot.”
“Kentucky/Barkley lakes have
historically posted some of the biggest
weights on the trail,” offered Crappie USA
Operations Manager, Darrell Van Vactor.
“There’s never a shortage of big old slab First place went to the team of Jim
crappie on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. Freeman and Garrett Bridges. They tallied
Now it does change from year to year. a two-day total weight of 18.20 pounds to
We will have years when it’s all about take top honors in the Semi-Pro Division.
Kentucky Lake and Barkley doesn’t even The Eddyville, KY team finished just 0.18
finish in the money.” ounce ahead of the second-place team
“Occasionally you have a year like of Henry and Jo Haley who had 18.02
this one when Barkley is hot. The Barkley pounds.
anglers rolled in and nearly took it all this Man-made cover on Barkley Lake
year. It is good to see that we have a produced the winning bag for Freeman
and Garrett. They make their beds by
4 Crappie NOW December 2017
