Angling for Athletes benefit bass tourney winners announced
Mark Sanders of Ava, right, was the lucky winner of the 2018 Gravely ZT-X Zero Turn Lawn Mower donated by West Plains Marine that was raffled off at the Angling for Athletes Benefit Bass Tournament Saturday out of Theodosia Marina.
Fifty-six teams turned out Saturday morning for the third annual Angling for Athletes Benefit Bass Tournament at Theodosia Marina on Bull Shoals Lake. Even with high temperatures and sunny skies, the anglers showed how skilled they were, with several 4-pound fish being brought to weigh- in, organizers said.
The team of Heston Fish and Justin Reed won first place with a five-fish limit topping the scales at 18.43 pounds. Fish and Reed reported catching their fish in dingy water using crankbaits and shaky-head worms.
The team of Arthur Fortin and Caleb Cline took second place with a five-fish limit totaling 17.19 pounds. Fortin and Cline caught their fish on crankbaits and jigs and also fished in the Theodosia arm of the lake.
Third place went to the team of Buck Comstock and Greg Blair with 15.17 pounds. Comstock and Blair caught their fish at numerous locations around the lake primarily using crankbaits and jigs, they said.
Mark Sanders may have been the luckiest angler in the tournament. He held the winning raffle ticket for the grand prize drawing for a 2018 Gravely ZT-X Zero Turn Lawn Mower.
With the support of the local anglers and businesses, the event was a success, Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop G organizers said, adding that the Angling for Athletes tournament raised more than $4,000 for the athletes of Special Olympics of Missouri.