vol15-04.pub (recovered) - magnolia crappie · catching crappie is ‘you’ve got to fish...

2014-15 Issue 4 December 13, 2014 Magnol ia Crappie Club Adventures

From the Editor’s Desk The Magnolia Crappie Club held it’s 4th tournament for the 2014/2015 Season on Eagle Lake / Chotard Lake on Saturday, December 13, 2014. Let me tell you friends, we had an awesome time. The weather was superb, excellent, wonderful, fabulous. Did you get my point? I personally hate fishing during the winter months. We’ve fished conditions in the past so bad that I was ashamed to tell anyone that I fished in those conditions. Not on Saturday, conditions were great. The fish even cooperated. Don and I welcomed a new teammate, his son 8 year-old Adonis Terry. Let me tell you about this young man. He’s a delightful person, never at a lost for words. He loves fishing and the fish. Adonis says, “I’m developing my own technique. The secret to catching crappie is ‘you’ve got to fish S-L-O-W’. I told my dad about my dream. I dreamed about a spot on the lake, surrounded by trees with a deep hole. That’s where the big fish live and hang out. That’s where we need to fish.” I don’t know if his dream is correct but it sounded good to me. Don says not only was Adonis excited about fishing his first tournament but so was his mother, Elizabeth Terry. Don says, “We’ve been married over 20 years, I’ve fished the entire time. I’ve fished 100’s of tournaments and never before has she prepared a full lunch with sandwiches and snacks for me. Before we walked out the door, we had a complete lunch. Enough for all three of us. I don’t know what Adonis en-joyed more, the fishing or eating every 15 minutes. I told Adonis we had to be up by 3am. Around 2:30am he was waking me up! I never saw him fall asleep all day. That was impressive.” I have to agree with Don, this kid has the mindset to be-come a good fisherman. He’s inquisitive, always asking questions. You can’t feed him a line of bull; he can see right through it. On the way home Adonis and I had a long conversation. I can talk to him kind of like an adult. I ask him, Adonis are you scared of your mom, “VERY”. Are you scared of your dad, “NOT AT ALL, my mom will go off like a ROCKET. I have to be careful with her. I never know when and where she’ll blow her top. My dad is my best friend. I can get away with almost anything with him.” I told Don he needs to quit playing Good Cop, Bad Cop with that boy. I love to see parents bring their children; Terry & Tonya Stewart had their baby girl, Anna Grace. What a class act. Earl Oswalt had his grandson Logan. Neil Dempsey had his son Lane. In my opinion this is what MCC is all about. Teaching the kids how to fish and spending quality time on the water. It’s why MCC is growing; growing from the inside out. It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about having fun and enjoying the great outdoors and the crappie fishing we’re abundantly blessed with right here in the Great State of Mississippi. I don’t know about you but I believe “If the good Lord made anything better than what we enjoyed on Saturday, he kept it in heaven for himself”. Be Safe & Have a Blessed Day, Bernard Williams, Vice-President & Editor


Adonis & Don Terry

Anna Grace & Mother Tonya Stewart—MCC Members


1st Place Winners Jimmy and Ricky Smith did something most of us Eagle Lake fishermen failed to do, they slow-trolled the brush-piles and open water between the piers. They caught the big white crappie that won the tourna-ment. I knew the piers could produce winners, it was a matter of finding the hot piers. At Eagle the piers get pounded. During the winter months it’s constant fishing. Ricky says, “We found schools of shad with our electronics and several times we caught crappie on the bottom hook and hooked shad on the top hook.” These veteran MCC members know what it takes to win and they did just that. I didn't know when I took their photo it would be the championship picture. I had heard they had a big stringer, as it turned out they had the .2 of a pound needed to win. Congratulations guys, great showing.

Eagle / Chotard Winners - Top 5

Shelton Culpepper and David Thornton weighed 13.24#’s of Eagle Lake crappie to capture 2nd place. These guys live on Eagle; everyone expected them to win. They have several times. Shelton says, “Don’t let that black bucket fool you”. He’s right, that ole slick ras-cal. He was telling us on Friday that the better fish were on the north end of Albermarle. I paid no attention to his antics; been there, done that. David is totally different. He won’t tell you anything. His response is “I ain’t catching no quality fish”. The rea-son is when he gets one on the line during practice he shakes it off. I’ve seen David and Shelton have up to four fish on their poles at one time and not even pick them up while someone was passing by. Now that SLICK….

Rabbit Rogers and Pat Jeffcoats weighed 13.15#’s to fall in the 3rd place slot. They too fished the Eagle Lake piers. The thing about them as always is they fished oth-er structure too. You’ll never see these guys fishing the Community Holes. They know the better fish are the un-molested ones. They’ll find places that we pass by and put a jig in there and bam. These guys are a wealth of knowledge. Rabbit knows more about jig fishing that we’ll ever imagine. I’ve head stories about this man placing brush pile in the lake at 2am. Talk about making your own honey holes. I’ve also been told that once he even ran his boat in a willow top to run the fish out and then started picking them off one by one. Now that’s amazing. I’m personally proud and blessed to know such good people as these two guys.

4th Place winners Keith Sullivan and Monty Blount weighed 12.98#’s. I watched these guys fish a big brush top all day. I’ve fished the same place several times with very little luck. The tree top they fished was so big over half of it was out of the water in 12 feet of water. It was lots of work to fish this type of structure; you stay hung constantly. Monty and Keith didn't mind; they were patient and persis-tent. That’s what it takes to be in the top 5 with MCC. On another note, I must tell you about the character of these guys. They are superb men that’s been a part of MCC for a long time. Both guys have included their children in their fishing and hunting activities. That’s impressive; that’s what good fathers are suppose to do. Monty loves to joke around; Keith is a more serious guy. One thing they both have in common, they love crappie fishing and they love MCC. That’s fine in my book, because we love and enjoy Keith and Monty. Way to go guys, y’all did good.

From the Tournament Director’s Desk From the Tournament Director’s Desk -- Michael NowellMichael Nowell

2014-15 Issue 4 December 13 , 2014 Magnol ia Crappie Club Adventures

Just when we thought we would have dismal weights this tournament, you guys really laid the wood to them. You guys brought some massive weights to the scales once again. On a weekend when a lot of teams were worried about catching 7 weighable fish, our great teams weighed in stringers that we would all be proud of at any lake. We had 3 teams that weighed in over 13 pounds! Teams had to have 11 pounds just to be in the top 15 and cash. All I can say is WOW! You guys are good! Next up we are finally headed back to Okatibbee Lake. This is going to be a fun tourna-ment where every team should be able to catch plenty of fish. And yes the fish are steadily getting bigger. We are catching 2 pound fish on a more regular basis. We are still trying to get the crappie population down so the fish can have a chance to grow on a more normal rate. So bring your coolers and fill them up with some of the best eater fish you can catch. We have 2 places setup for everyone to stay. Days Inn on Hwy 11/80 has come on as a sponsor once again for those of you who want to stay in town. They have blocked off plenty of rooms for us so give them some business. If you would like to stay out by the lake there are cabins and a motel located in the Pine Springs Water Park on the east side of the lake. To make reservations contact the Pat Harrison Water District at 1-800-748-9403. There is plenty of parking and we should have the whole place to ourselves.

We have secured a new sponsor for this tournament. Covington & Sons Bait & Tackle. This is a local minnow farm that will sell you fresh minnows by the pound at a fair price. They are located at 10841 Spinks Mosley Rd. There should be someone there separating minnows during the week by 6 AM. Also they have agreed to have their minnow truck at registration Saturday morning. So don't worry about finding a bait shop on your way to the lake. Just bring your bucket and get them fresh off the truck.

Saturday morning registration @ Okatibbee Dam Landing 5:15 - 6:30 AM Start fishing time 7:00 AM Stop fishing time 2:00 PM Weigh in 3:00 PM @ Okatibbee Dam Landing

The WeighThe Weigh--Master’sMaster’s–– Larry NipperLarry Nipper A Change of Scenery Was In Order

Thanks to everyone for the kind words, prayers and encouragement during the past month. It means a lot when things aren’t going according to plan in our lives. We’ve been through some tough times in our lives; when friends reach out when you are down it sure does help. Thanks to all of you for 100MPH Wind Suit you gave me at the weigh in. I’m not too good at thank-you’s in front of a crowd; I promise you sure made me feel good. My brother in law had a stroke on a Friday, the next Friday we lost the house, then five days later we had to put down our 14 year old dog. Man, that’s enough Lord, I know you don’t put more on us than we can bear, just give us strength to continue, we only grow stronger by going thru these struggles. Looks like I will be busy working on building a new house after the new year, if it’s the Lord’s will. Thankfully I’ll have something to keep me busy. The weigh in’s have gone so smooth; thank you for the help you give us during every tournament. I’ve appreciated all who’ve pitched in to help. I look forward to a new year and the rest of the season. Ken and I have a lot of catching up to do in a short amount of time.

Thanks again and see you at Okatibbee! Larry………………..

Kim Gray and Vic Finkley weighed 12.89#’s to finish 5th. Aunt Kim and her ‘Net Man Vic’ fished the upper end of Albermarle and did the best in that group. They caught a bunch of fish but the black crappie couldn't match the white crappie in Eagle Lake. Vic and Kim are from Grenada and they run Vic’s Guide Service. They guide fish for a living; that’s got to be fun. Vic traded his 22’ Ranger for a pontoon boat that was more stable and economical. I didn't understand at the time but now I see why. They are fine folks; they’ll do anything in the world to help you but tell you where the fish are. That’s ok with me because I like to find them for myself. Kim, whenev-er you want a new partner let me know, Don is gone.

Eagle / Chotard Winners - Top 5

Larry Nipper, Weigh-Master MCC

Michael Nowell - Tournament Director MCC


From an Ole Timer "All anyone wants is credit for what they do"

It takes a lot of members volunteering to keep this club running. I don't know how it happens but we always seen to come up with the right person in the right position. It would be something if we had to pay for all this talent, but it's free.

President Ken Middleton;

My first thoughts go out to our current President. Ken has kept this club moving forward and heading in the right direction. As a two time Past-President I know he has listened to a lot of hog wash about almost everything. His decisions are all about what's best for the club. I was so glad he accepted another year as President. Ken, keep doing what you're doing because it's the best and we are fortunate to have someone like you. Thank You!

Vice-President Bernard Williams;

Years past all the Vice-President did was sell club hats and shirts. Bernard has stepped up and accepted the reasonability of the newsletter and has taken it to the next level. I think it started out by improving our web site (Magnolia Crappie Club) after Past-President Paul Johnson started it. Bernard not only greatly improved the web site and keeps it current but he also improved the newsletter significantly. Only Bernard and Past-Presidents can know how many hours, days, and months you can spend on the newslet-ter. Bernard also takes the pictures for the web site and newsletter at tournaments and functions. He is a busy man and it's a monster task for anyone. Bernard, the web site and newsletter (Adventures Magazine) are super good. From all of us, Thank You!

Secretary/Treasure Paula Nowell;

Paula is a person that keeps up with most everything in this club. How about the meetings, memberships, sponsorships, splash for cash monies, registrations, weigh-ins, payouts, bank account, and IRS forms. I may have missed some tasks but you can see it's a gigantic job for anyone. It has always amazed me how anyone could accept this much responsibility for nothing. Paula, if I was your boss you deserve a raise for outstanding work. Thank You!

Past-President Paul Johnson;

There is no way anyone can imagine how many hours Paul has spent working for this club. It would definitely not be where it is today without his dedicated and tireless efforts. When we started the club Paul had the brains on where, when, and what to do and the some of the rest of us supplied the brawn.

Years ago we fished from the first weekend in March thru July. We had a kickoff meeting in January and concluded with the Awards Banquet in July, two weeks after the Championship. It was a hectic schedule fishing from 8 to 10 tournaments and the 2-day Championship plus throw in the Awards Banquet in 5 months. That's not counting the President writing, publishing, and mailing the newsletter every 2 weeks plus meetings and newsletters before and after the tournament season.

Remembering back, one of my favorite times was the Awards Banquet when Paul put on his funny and famous slide show about all of us. I don't know if we could ever get Paul to put on another show but anyone that has ever seen one knows what I'm talking about. Paul, it would be impossible for this club to repay you for all the work you've done. From an ole timer that knows. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Continued on page 12…….

Donnie, Lane, and Neil Dempsey—Lane received a fishing rod from Paul Johnson


From the President’s Desk From the President’s Desk -- Kenneth Middleton, IIKenneth Middleton, II Perfect, just perfect…

After having far too interesting of last couple of weeks, Larry and I were ready to kick back and enjoy the great outdoors. I don’t know about you, but that was the best weather I have ever fished for a Cho-tard tournament.

There were some great weights from the specks in Albermarle. We chased them all day; some great speck/white buckets from Eagle. This made the weigh-in lots of fun. Those were some great weights for De-cember; we all were glad to see.

Hats off to Team Smith bringing home the huge sack of fish for first place. Well deserved from a couple of great guys as well as great fishermen!

All club operations are going fairly smooth including the financials. Our new look for the magazine is being offset by ad sales to make sure the publishing costs stays the same as it was with the original black & white newsletter. It will look a lot nicer when Tonya, Katie, or

Paula win; especially the front cover. LOL

On to Okatibee. We’ll have minnows for sale at the ramp during check-in. They’ll be sold by the pound by a new sponsor; have your buckets ready and get ready to catch a lot of crappie.

See you there and have a great Christmas with your family; please remember the reason for the sea-son. The best of times for you and yours for the rest of this year and next.

More to come,

Ken

Kenneth Middleton, II, President MCC


Casting for Crappie By Brad Wiegmann, Professional Outdoor Writer

When it comes to catching crappie there are several techniques you can use. Of course spider rigging is popular along with long lining. However, just casting for crappie would be the number one way with crappie anglers.

Now there is more to casting for crappie than flipping the bail and raring back and casting a lure. An angler has to be casting to where the crappie are and what they would bite to catch them. It doesn’t matter if you are on the bank fishing or in a boat casting

can be a great way to catch them.

For crappie anglers the best time to cast for crappie is in the springtime when crappie are up shallow spawning. Crappie will get up on the bank searching for spawning area and will make nest around cover or structure. Making target specific casts to cover and structure is the best way to catch crappie.

“Casting is a great way to catch crappie especially in the spring when the crappie are up shallow. Anyone can cast a live minnow or lure during that season and catch a lot of big crappie,” said B’n’M’ crappie pro staffer Brad Taylor.

It’s not just Brad Taylor using a spinning rod and reel when casting for crappie. His daughter, Allie Bre, one of his favorite fishing partners also loves to cast and catch crappie. “It’s a great time to take out your children and let them cast out a live minnow or lure by themselves without having to help them cast and they can honestly catch a fish by themselves,” said Taylor.

One of Taylor’s favorite crappie fishing spots is the renowned Gre-nada Lake in Mississippi. “Early in the year, I like to fish the grass on Grenada Lake since there is no structure to speak of here. I will fish with a live minnow or Southern Pro Lit’l Hustler 1 ½-inch tube rigged on a 1/32- or 1/16-ounce jig head,” said Taylor.

For live minnows, Taylor uses a #2 Eagle Claw 214EL light wire hook and #4 split shot. “Since the water is muddy on Grenada Lake, I can rig up with 8 pound test fishing line when fishing with live minnows or even tubes,” said Taylor. Taylor likes to rig it with a cork and keep the tube lure just above where the crappie are located. “Most the time on Grenada, I’m in about three feet of water catching them,” said Taylor.

Casting can be challenging for the novice angler, however, a spinning reel can help eliminate some of the problems associated with casting especially live minnows or lightweight lures. Spinning reels have a fixed spool that doesn’t rotate. Instead the fishing line flows off the spool by being pulled from the weight of the lure.

WaveSpin spinning reels (www.wavespinreel.com) not only let line off when casting, but they are guaranteed to not tangle. Seri-ously, they are guaranteed to not tangle, but they also feature the patented WaveSpin Spool design that increases casting distance. The revolutionary spool features a row of teeth all slanted in one direction with gaps between the teeth reducing friction at the same time eliminating tangles; in addition to having aluminum spools, all metal gears, over-sized line roller, infinite anti-reverse and an exclusive 10 disc drag system. Continue on page 9 ….

Allie Bre & Brad Taylor are excited about casting for crappie


Eagle / Chotard Big Fish

Continue on page 8…. Casting For Crappie– Continued Spinning reels can also be converted from either a right or left hand retrieve. All of the WaveSpin Reels can be converted quickly and ready to use in less than a minute. WaveSpin Reels ZTR, DHxL and DHz models feature a comfortable grip handle and the WaveSpin Legend 250 model a super soft EVA handle grip. Two anglers that don’t have any problems casting spinning rods and reels are B’n’M’s pro staff manager Kent Driscoll and B’n’M’ pro staffer/Grenada Lake fishing guide John Harrison (www.crappie101.com) who fish together in crappie tournaments. Both like to cast spinning rods and reels especially to stake beds. Stake beds are man-made structure commonly constructed from wood or PVC pipe to attract crappie. “When fishing stake beds, we approach them going into the wind because we can control the boat better and lets us keep our distanced from the stake bed,” said Harrison. “We use live minnows, live minnows rigged on a jig with a soft plastic body or a 1/16-ounce jig. Normally, we will just cast past the stake bed and twitch it, pause, twitch, pause retrieve back through the stake bed,” said Driscoll. When it comes to crappie rods Taylor, Driscoll, and Harrison like using the B’n’M’ Poles Sam’s Su-per-Sensitive 7-Foot Crappie Rod (www.bnmpoles.com) or Buck’s Graphite Crappie Spinning rod. Both are lightweight graphite rods design just for casting live minnows or casting lures.

Spinning reels and rods make casting live minnows and lures so easy any angler can do it. They make catching crappie fun, but make casting and catching crappie is even more fun. Brad Wiegmann Professional Outdoor Writer and Photographer

Grenada Lake crappie fishing guide John Harrison

Keith Sullivan & Monty Blount - 1st Place Big Fish - 2.71#’s Shelton Culpepper & David Thornton - 2nd Place Big Fish - 2.46#’s


MCC Anglers of The Year - Top Teams

1st Place—Charles Lindsay, Sr. & Graham Taylor

Remaining in the top spot is Charles Lindsay with Gra-ham Taylor. These guys caught almost 13#’s of crappie in Albermarle to remain in 1st place. It’s no secret that these ole timers can perch-jerk. I’ve seen them in action. You would think that the older you get the slower your reaction time would be; not so with Lindsay and Taylor. They don’t sleep on the job.

When we see that big green machine coming down the lake we all know we better take notice. Charles al-ways does well on the River Lakes. He grew up fishing the lakes around Greenville. He knows where to look and how to make the presentation. These are the qualities of a great team.

Charles says, “There’s no need to practice all week before a tournament. If I can fish a lake on Thursday and Friday, I’m ok. Too much practice causes confusion.”

Moving up to the number 2 spot; Kent Driscoll & John Har-rison. I could write all day about the B’n’M & War-Eagle Pro-Staff team and not say enough about these excellent fisher-men. They never cease to amaze me. They fish and carry themselves like professionals. The one thing that sticks out about these guys is they can figure out the bite quickly. They don’t get caught up in the ‘Yesterday Bite’. They treat each day differently. They let the fish tell them what they want in-stead of trying to give the fish what they want them to have.

If you’re a young crappie fisherman and you wanted men-tors or someone to emulate, you couldn't pick a better team. They’re reachable; you can walk up to either of these guys and they will help you become better a fisherman, if you’ll listen.

I thank the Lord for blessing me to become associated with such fine individuals. I can see why companies chose them to be their representatives. They’re fine fellows, hands down…..

2nd Place—Kent Driscoll & John Harrison


MCC Anglers of The Year - Top Teams

Kim Gray & Vic Finkley move up to 4th place with 78.73 points. Vic and Kim are class acts, they’re in the guiding business; so that means they fish for a living. They bring new meaning to the phrase, “A bad day fishing is better than a good day working”.

Vic, Kim and I are close friends, I call him ‘Uncle Vic’. It’s an old tradition to refer to an elderly gentleman as ‘Uncle’ when he reaches a certain age. I told Vic about this and started calling him Uncle. Being a good natured guy that he is, he said, “I ain’t got no problem ‘Nephew’”. Seems Kim heard me say it now I got to call her “Aunt Kim”. That’s kinda odd; me being almost 20 years older; oh well.

Vic and Kim are sponsored by Southern Pro and Pfizer. That’s another strange fact; seeing how Vic never ever uses anything other than a minnow. Guess it makes sense using what he’s made his living from for 30+ years being one of the largest minnow wholesalers in North Mississippi. My hat’s off to Kim and her net man ‘Uncle Vic’. Way to go my Aunt and Uncle.

4th Place—Kim Gray & Vic Finkley

Clint Egbert & Jeremy Aldridge dropped a spot to number three. What do you expect from the hottest team on the MCC circuit. They finished the Chotard tournament in 16th place. Not to shabby for the out-of-town boys.

The Silent Stalker Pro-Staff Team are becoming known for top finishes. From MCC to Crappie Masters, they’re building quite a reputation. On top of being good fishermen they’re good men. Jeremy & Clint secured the biggest sponsorship I’ve ever wit-nessed during my tenure with MCC.

They’re sponsored by the City of Batesville and they’re the reason our MCC Championship is returning to Sardis and Enid in June of 2016. Jeremy & Clint is not limited to one technique. They can slow troll and use a jig pole to perfection. Jeremy’s time is limited now since the arrival of new bouncing baby boy. Clint can start counting his days, wont be long before Jeremy will be using the three-in-the-boat rule for that little boy. Can’t blame him, he tore up his daddy’s stuff, now it your turn my friend. 3rd Place—Clint Egbert & Jeremy Aldridge

Shelton Culpepper & David Thornton made a drastic move from out of the top 10 to 5th place. They caught 10 pounds more fish here than at Enid. It helps when you live on the lake, I guess. These guys are slick. Shelton for sure. On Friday Shelton told me about the big specks he was catching in the upper end of Albermarle. I knew something had to be wrong when he was volunteering this kind of information. Years ago I would have got suckered into following his advice, not anymore.

I called David early Saturday morning needing some oil for the boat. Come to find out, they were sitting on the lake near one of the hottest piers on Eagle Lake. Been there since 2am.

I’m scared on what’s going to happen if Shelton and David start telling the truth. That’s going to be confusing. Oh well, I don’t think I got to worry about that anytime soon. Best thing to do is not ask Shelton about anything except them twin grand boys. He’ll come clean about them. I’ll just wait till they start fishing and ask them. They’ll tell the truth, I hope. 5th Place—Shelton Culpepper & David Thornton


Continued from page 6 From an Ole Timer—Continued

Past-President Charles Lindsay;

There is another Past-President that started out fishing with cane poles. Before you laugh too loud he won a Wolf tournament with his daughter (Dusty) with a radio blasting away drifting right down the middle of the lake. We thought they were crazy until we got to the weigh-in, Wow! He's upgraded a lot since then with B'n'M Poles but when you look at the leader board he's still on top.

Charles has tirelessly worked for this club for not just a year or two but for years and years. He owned a successful business and knows how to get things done and make the right decisions. I've known Charles a long time and you could not have a better friend. Thank You! for all you've done to help this club, and me, along the way.

Past-Secretary/Treasure Jane Rogers;

My next thoughts go out to all the Secretary/Treasures we've had and the small amount of appreciation and credit they've re-ceived. From our first Secretary Paul Johnson and to my wife Jane, where would we be if they had not served? Jane has worked at registrations, weigh-ins and payouts for many, many years until she retired a few years ago for health reasons. A Secretary/Treasures work does not stop at the end of a tournament. It begins again when they get home and tallies up all the results. As with most of our Secretary/Treasures Jane did her job with little or no complaints. It's a tiring job for anyone, so if you see her just give her a hug and say, Thank You!

"All anyone wants is credit for what they do"

Some of my favorite one liners;

"Nothing' is easy"

"It's always something"

"You can't fish everywhere"

Best fish tales always fall into 3 categories;

1. How many, it's always above the limit.

2. How big, the biggest ones I've ever caught!

3. How fast, did not catch the limit, but I only fished a little while.

What's your fish tale? by the Rabbit


Sponsor MCC Team Current Thru Sponsorship Level

City of Batesville Jeremy Aldridge /Clint Egbert 10/1/2015 ULTIMATE SPONSOR

Grenada Co. Tourism Tommy Moss / Les Smith 10/1/2015 ULTIMATE SPONSOR

Academy Sports Paul Johnson 9/4/2015 EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR

B & M Pole Company Kent Driscoll / John Harrison 2/27/2015 EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR

Elite Optical Terry / Tonya Stewart 9/5/2015 EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR

Farm Bureau Shelton Culpepper / David Thornton 5/30/2015 EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR

The Crawley Law Offices, PLLC Don Terry / Bernard Williams 10/22/2015 EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR

Washington Co. Tourism Ken Middleton / Larry Nipper 2/6/2015 EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR

PRADCO / Bandit Lures Brad Taylor 10/31/2015 EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR

Yazoo Co Tourism Charles Lindsay / Charles Lindsay, Jr 10/16/2014 EXCLUSIVE EVENT SPONSOR

Desiccare, Inc. Roger / Katie Womack 10/6/2015 SPECIAL SPONSOR

Taylor Made Labels, Inc. Roger / Katie Womack 9/4/2015 SPECIAL SPONSOR

Cannon Chevrolet Johnny Walker 9/24/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Counce Marine Chaney Starnes 8/2/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Douglas Quikut Kent Driscoll / John Harrison 10/9/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Gateway Tire Johnny Walker 8/6/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Huskavarnna Johnny Walker 8/25/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Kirk Auto Company Johnny Walker 8/28/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Lakeway Sporting Goods Johnny Walker 8/1/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Performance Marine, LLC Roger / Katie Womack 10/1/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Rankin First Economic Develop Tommy Moss / Brad Calhoun 5/30/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Southern Belle T-Shirts Kent Driscoll / John Harrison 3/15/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Tite Lok/Black Hawk Ken Middleton / Larry Nipper 11/19/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

TLC Marine Johnny Walker 8/25/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

War Eagle Boats John Harrison 8/6/2015 PLATINUM SPONSOR

Dunlap & Kyle Johnny Walker 10/1/2015 MAJOR SPONSOR

East Side Motel Johnny Walker 8/18/2015 MAJOR SPONSOR

Jake and Rips Johnny Walker 8/6/2015 MAJOR SPONSOR

Pete Patrick Tire Service, Inc Hugh Krutz / Steve Stevenson 3/11/2015 MAJOR SPONSOR

Lake Harbor Trading Post Charles Lindsay / Charles Lindsay, Jr 4/16/2015 MAJOR SPONSOR

Scott Pertroleum Corporation Johnny Walker 8/20/2015 MAJOR SPONSOR

Woods Home Building & Repair Robbie Niven / David McWilliams 7/31/2015 MAJOR SPONSOR

Yazoo Body Works Robbie Niven / David McWilliams 7/29/2015 MAJOR SPONSOR

49 Tire & Auto Service Roger / Katie Womack 9/8/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

A-1 Gear & Auto, Inc Roger / Katie Womack 2/27/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Alfa Insurance Robbie Niven / David McWilliams 7/29/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Magnolia Crappie Club - Sponsors


BFMW Group CPA Johnny Walker 8/22/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

B's Grocery Johnny Walker 8/21/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Central MS Cemetery Roger / Katie Womack 2/18/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Collins Bait & Tackle Johnny Walker 8/29/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Crystal Grill, Inc. Johnny Walker 8/22/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Custom Printing Johnny Walker 8/21/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

D & D Gas , LLC Robbie Niven / David McWilliams 8/11/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

David Thornton Guide Service Johnny Walker 9/4/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Dry Dock Bar & Grill Roger / Katie Womack 9/22/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Duncan Marine & Outfitters Johnny Walker 8/25/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Dunn's Store Paul Johnson 5/3/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Edward Jones Johnny Walker 8/20/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Executive Planning Group Roger / Katie Womack 8/21/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Fratesi Grocery Johnny Walker 9/9/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Green Thumb's LLC Robbie Niven / David McWilliams 8/11/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Greenwood Nursery & Boat Johnny Walker 8/22/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Grenada Lake Field Office Johnny Walker 8/25/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

J. Harrison Crappie Guide Service Johnny Walker 9/4/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Jeffery Wilson State Farm Mike Nowell / Paula Nowell 9/3/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Jeffreys Grocery & Sporting Goods Roger / Katie Womack 10/13/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

KAJCP Parts & Supply Johnny Walker 10/7/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Laney's Boat Camp Shelton Culpepper / David Thornton 10/25/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

LeFlore Hardware, Inc. Johnny Walker 8/26/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Middleton Farm Company Roger / Katie Womack 3/20/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Outlaw Sporting Goods Johnny Walker 9/5/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

P-Reaux's Cajun Mudbugs, LLC Robbie Niven / David McWilliams 7/25/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Rankin County Towing Roger / Katie Womack 2/14/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Roys Store Ken Middleton 10/6/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Service Auto Parts, Inc. Johnny Walker 8/26/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Smith & Company Outfitters Johnny Walker 9/1/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Spencer's Dairy Cream Johnny Walker 8/21/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Stub's Resturant Robbie Niven / David McWilliams 7/29/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Sunset Chrysler Dodge Jeep Vic Finkley /Kim Gray 9/5/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

The Biscuit Pit Johnny Walker 8/6/2015 PATRON SPONSOR The Chuck Stop Jeremy Aldridge /Clint Egbert 10/6/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Top Dog Power Sports Johnny Walker 8/27/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Trustmark National Bank Johnny Walker 8/26/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Vans Deer Processing Roger / Katie Womack 2/27/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Vic's Bait & Tackle Vic Finkley /Kim Gray 8/18/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Wade Inc. Johnny Walker 8/14/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Sponsor MCC Team Current Thru Sponsorship Level

Don Bass Insurance Agency Roger / Katie Womack 10/30/2015 PATRON SPONSOR

Country Catfish Johnny Walker 11/14/2014 PATRON SPONSOR

Magnolia Crappie Club - Sponsors

If you would like to become a Magnolia Crappie Club sponsor, contact us at [email protected] or call Ken Middleton, President - 662-907-4080. You can also go to our website at www.magnoliacrappieclub.com and print a sponsorship form, fill it out and mail your checks to:

Magnolia Crappie Club - 3616 Kim Dr. - Lauderdale, MS 39335


Magnolia Crappie Club - Anglers of the Year Race

Place Team Team# Wolf Grenada Enid Chotard Total 1 C.LINDSAY-C.LINDSAY JR 10 18.79 20.65 20.76 22.78 82.98 2 K.DRISCOLL-J.HARRISON 9 15.54 22.38 21.86 21.12 80.90 3 J.ALDRIDGE-C.EGBERT 73 15.44 24.42 20.23 20.78 80.87 4 V.FINKLEY-K.GRAY 20 16.14 20.98 18.72 22.89 78.73 5 S.CULPEPPER-D.THORNTON 5 17.71 22.24 13.84 23.24 77.03 6 R.ROGERS-P.JEFFCOATS 7 17.77 18.45 17.17 23.15 76.54 7 T.STEWART-T.STEWART 26 15.26 23.67 15.16 20.19 74.28 8 M.BLOUNT-K.SULLIVAN 4 15.07 22.95 12.56 22.98 73.56 9 B.BURNETT-J.GROSS 60 17.29 23.49 11.85 20.62 73.25

10 C.HORTON-K.HORTON 36 18.64 17.63 13.98 22.29 72.54 11 J.WALKER 30 13.26 23.92 17.01 18.23 72.42 12 J.SMITH-R.SMITH 34 15.83 14.14 17.88 23.44 71.29 13 T.MOSS-B.CALHOUN 11 15.37 21.78 14.43 19.45 71.03 14 L.HOLMES -TC FERGUSON 42 11.83 26.55 15.08 17.26 70.72 15 P.JOHNSON-E.BATES JR 1 16.48 19.90 13.70 20.53 70.61 16 B.WILLIAMS-D.TERRY 8 11.75 20.73 17.78 19.09 69.35 17 C.STARNES-G.FRAZIER 65 16.68 18.15 23.50 11.01 69.34 18 S.MARQUIS-T.GARRETT 69 10.00 20.01 17.62 21.40 69.03 19 R.WOMACK-K.WOMACK 3 14.41 21.30 12.98 19.60 68.29 20 B.CHAPPELL-B.HUDSON 19 0.00 25.09 22.13 20.46 67.68 21 R.SANDERS-W.TYER 44 17.14 19.80 13.20 17.34 67.48 22 D.WADE-R.WADE 22 14.76 14.79 20.46 16.24 66.25 23 M.NOWELL-P.NOWELL 37 16.33 20.94 10.00 14.27 61.54 24 E.OSWALT-J.ROBERSON 54 15.00 15.79 10.00 19.72 60.51 25 B.TAYLOR 59 15.36 17.20 16.07 10.00 58.63 26 N.DEMPSEY-D.DEMPSEY 89 16.74 14.18 12.54 13.68 57.14 27 D.MCWILLIAMS-R.NIVEN 53 14.81 18.37 0.00 20.90 54.08 28 D.WHITE-H.STRICKLAND 57 15.33 17.81 17.64 0.00 50.78 29 K.MIDDLETON-L.NIPPER 23 0.00 14.41 11.73 21.96 48.10 30 S.TURNER-A.TURNER 93 0.00 19.81 10.00 17.93 47.74 31 R.CLARY-P.KIRK 25 0.00 21.72 0.00 22.05 43.77 32 H.KRUTZ-S.STEVENSON 35 0.00 20.80 0.00 22.35 43.15 33 S.STEEN-S.STEEN 28 13.65 19.47 0.00 10.00 43.12 34 M.HIGGINBOTHAM-N.POLAN 43 0.00 20.25 19.71 0.00 39.96 35 A.SMITH-L.SMITH 31 0.00 18.72 10.00 10.00 38.72 36 D.COLLINS 51 10.00 18.14 0.00 10.00 38.14 37 J.WARD-M.WARD 18 0.00 16.83 10.00 10.00 36.83 38 J.CARPENTER-T.CARPENTER 40 0.00 22.17 14.59 0.00 36.76 39 R.BOUCHILLON-J.LOWREY 6 0.00 15.87 0.00 19.33 35.20 40 N.SULLIVAN-J.PITCOCK 94 0.00 23.68 10.00 0.00 33.68 41 J.CORMAN 17 0.00 0.00 10.00 21.00 31.00 42 R.MOODY-S.MOODY 90 0.00 16.52 13.60 0.00 30.12 43 L.EVANS 71 14.70 0.00 0.00 15.12 29.82 44 K.HOLMES-A.MORGAN 24 0.00 12.46 0.00 10.00 22.46 45 S.WHITE-D.WHITE 78 0.00 20.99 0.00 0.00 20.99 46 M.HAMBERLIN 72 0.00 0.00 0.00 20.89 20.89 47 S.CLARK-J.RILEY 91 0.00 19.35 0.00 0.00 19.35 48 M.BAKER-K.HUGGINS 81 0.00 18.02 0.00 0.00 18.02 49 A.MORGAN-J.MORGAN 45 0.00 0.00 0.00 17.53 17.53 50 C.PATTERSON-J.FORD 76 16.71 0.00 0.00 0.00 16.71 51 D.ABERNATHY-B.BARNETT 67 0.00 0.00 14.52 0.00 14.52 52 C.WRIGHT JR-C.WRIGHT III 79 11.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 11.70 53 J.PITT-R.CATALANI 92 0.00 11.32 0.00 0.00 11.32 54 J.LINTON-J.LINTON 49 0.00 10.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 54 D.NEWMAN-A.NEWMAN 107 0.00 10.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 54 J.THOMASON 52 10.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00


14/15 Tournament Season

Regular Tournaments

Sep 6 Wolf Lake

Oct 25 Grenada BMO

Nov 15 Enid

Dec 13 Chotard/Eagle

Jan 17 Okatibbee

Feb 21 Washington

Mar 21 Grenada & BMO

Apr 11 Barnett BMO

May 9 Sardis

June 12-13 Finals Batesville

Minimum participation level for Post-Season qualifi-cation is to enter 7 tournaments and earn at least 90 points. You get 10 points for entering and 1 point per pound of weighed in fish.

Ok teams, it’s time for Splash-4-Cash. Again this year we wel-come Kevin & Chris Horton as our S4C Coordinators. These guys have the tickets and as you know each member is responsible for one book (25) tickets at $5.00 each. New rule change this year, every two books of tickets you sell after your initial required two books, your team will receive a free tournament entry for one tournament. Kevin & Chris will be glad to answer any questions you may have concerning Splash-4-Cash. This is one of our few fund-raisers that we use to fund the MCC Finals. The finals location & date have been set, so plan on fishing Sardis / Enid next June. Our finals are the biggest payouts of the year. Each day of the 2-day tournament is just like a single day’s tournament, plus if your combined weight is the heaviest, you win another $500. You can contact Chris or Kevin for questions. Thank you Kevin and Chris. Kevin Horton - C: 662-588-5379 - [email protected] Chris Horton - C: 662-515-1363 - [email protected]

Kevin & Chris Horton—Splash-4-Cash Coordinators

President, Kenneth Middleton 662-907-4080

Vice President, Bernard Williams 601-454-0196

Sec/Treasurer, Paula Nowell 601-917-1787

Tournament Dir., Michael Nowell 601-917-1787

Weigh-Master, Larry Nipper 662-827-7470

Imm Past President Paul Johnson 601-624-0359

Director 2015 - Don Terry 601-291-2987

Director 2015 - Brad Chappell 601-317-6681

Director 2015 - Ricky Smith 601-757-5406

Director 2016 - Jimmy Smith 601-757-1142

Director 2016 - John Harrison 662-983-5999

Director 2016 - Charles Lindsay 601-624-6348

Director 2017 - Tommy Moss 601-260-6267

Director 2017 - Terry Stewart 601-502-5699

Director 2017 - Rod Womack 601-942-8907

MCC Governing Board 2014-15


The Wizard of Crappie Fishing – Eddie Slater By Bernard Williams

I started crappie fishing as a kid, probably around 6 or 7 years old. My dad Roosevelt Williams was an older man when I was born, about 50. Being that age, he provided me with many stories about fishing and hunting that I’ll never forget. I can

remember him telling me about a fellow up in the Delta that invented a jig that would catch crappie better than minnows. The man’s name was Eddie Slater, seven-time Crappie Fishing Champion of Mississippi, Outdoor Hall of Fame inductee, and owner of Slater’s Jig Company.

A few days ago I had an opportunity to visit with Ed-die Slater. Boy what a wealth of information this man possesses. Slater now 79 years-old says, “I started my company with a $30 investment, a few hooks, some hob-by shop supplies and a hand pouring jig mode. It all be-gan on December 23, 1969 in the afternoon; I had tied up about ½ dozen jigs and went to Mossy Lake near In-dianola, MS about 1pm. When I got there a couple guys were loading up to leaving saying the fish are just not biting, they’d been there all day and hadn’t caught a fish. I saw one more boat in the lake so I motored out to an area almost in the middle of the lake and began setting several poles for some jig fishing. I fished vertical at that time, no trolling. I fished two jig poles; one was complete but the other needed a jig. I placed one pole in the water and started tying a jig on the other, before I could turn around, the first pole bowed underneath the boat. I net-ted the huge crappie and dropped the jig back in the wa-ter. Same scenario again, before I could tie a jig on the second pole I had another huge fish on.”

Slater continues, “This caused major concern with the other guys fishing in the nearby boat. They came over and asked what I was using to catch these fish. By this time I had about 6 or 7 in the boat. They insisted I was

in a school of crappie. I invited them to tie onto the side of my boat and we fish together. Well, we made a pass thru the area and I continued catching fish one after another. They never got a bite with those minnows. Next they claimed the fish are on my side of the boat. I turned around and pulled them through the same area while I caught fish on the other side. By the end of the afternoon, around 4pm I’d caught nearly forty fish to their zero. These guys demanded I make them a dozen jigs each. My business started that afternoon.” “Word of mouth if it’s positive will grow a business. Slater’s Jig Company started like a small dot and grew into a bigger and bigger circle. I began selling jigs out of a cigar box, 25 cents each or 4 for a dollar. One day a guy says you need to put your name on these jigs. I purchased a rubber stamp and began stamping the cards that I attached each dozen jigs to. I called the original jig an ‘Ole Slater Stand By’”, says Mr. Slater.

Eddie says, “At the time I started my company I was working for Mississippi Power and Light, now Entergy. I worked 26 years and retired in the early 80’s. I fished the 1st ever Crappie Tournaments Series in Mississippi sponsored by the MS Game & Fish Commission back in 1974. We had a seven lake schedule with the Championship on Grenada Lake. Back then the crappie creel limit was 50 fish. During our tournaments we were allowed to weigh in all our fish up to a limit. My part-ner, Billy Joe Cross and I won all the tournaments including the Championship for several years in a row. We could only fish with 1 pole per person. We fished out of a 14’ flat bottom boat with a 9.9 Johnson motor. We continued to fish and win crappie tournaments until other fishermen started betting on us. I didn’t believe in gambling so I quit tournament fishing.”

I asked Eddie what advice did he have for younger fishermen, he said, “The crappie bite is like a vacuum cleaner, it has 4 dialed in speeds, high, medium, low, and off. Crappie stay on high for about 2 hours per day. When they’re on high, you got to step it up. When they’re on medium and low, you must slow it down. You got to fish the mood of the fish. You’ve got to get in Nature’s Cycle. If the fish are in the off position, nothing in the world is going to make them bite. It becomes a waiting game. Another tip I’d like to mention, try to fish as light as you possibly can. I use 4# line and 1/8th jig, I try to keep my jig in contact with my pole tip at all times. Sometimes a fish will pick up on the jig and cause the line to go slack. I never break a line unless it wraps around something and then you’re going to break off or lose your fish no matter what line you use.” Continued on Next Page

The Wizard of Crappie Fishing – Eddie Slater — Continued

Slater continues, “When I started crappie fishing we didn’t have all the fancy boats, electronics, trolling motors and lures. We relied on our basic instinct to locate and area that looked fishy. If the shad were active and there was sufficient cover nearby, we knew there could be fish in the area. We started our search at that location.” This guy has crappie fish-ing dialed in; I’ve fished for nearly 50 years and Mr. Slater enlightened me on things I’ve never realized. “A Crappie completely scales a minnow or shad when they inhale it, scales are exhaled out the gill plate. It’s done so

fast in a tank until you can barely see it. This starts a feeding frenzy. Next time you clean a fish, look inside the stomach and see if you can find any scales”, says Ed-die. Slater says, “I use to do jig fishing seminars at local stores back in the day. One day I was doing one at Holmes Junior College; a guy comes up to me and asks if I guarantee my jigs. I said of course, he showed me a jig that was almost bare, it had no more than 2 or 3 stains of hair remaining; he said he would like a new jig. My question to him, just how many crappie have you caught on this jig. His answer

was over 300. I said sure and handed him a new jig, as I reached for the old one, he said No! I’ve got to keep it. It still works like it did when he first tied it on.” I asked Eddie what makes his jigs different from others on the market. Eddie says, “We use the best products on the market (hooks, baby calf tail hair, squirrel hair, chenille, flashaboo, and our paint process). We hand tie every jig we sell

right here in our Indianola, Mississippi warehouse. We can truly say our products are ‘Made in the USA’. Our latest product is a soft plastic bait called a ‘WHATZIT’. It’s a tad-frog type body and tail with dancing legs on each side. A Tad-Frog is a Tadpole in its first develop-ment stages of becoming a frog. It has two little back legs on the sides of the body. Fish are absolutely crazy about the WHATZIT. It’s approximately 2” long, scented and comes in a variety of colors. Best of all it’s MADE IN THE USA. You can order them from our website (www.slatersjigs.com) or at your favorite tackle or bait shop. Call us at (662) 887-3548 or email us at [email protected] ”. Bernard


Board Member Brad Chappell showing of the MCC Apparel

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