Josh Brown Wins Charity Catfish Tournament
Lake Guntersville produced some nice fish as it usually does, but more importantly, the Catfish Community came out to support Isaac Lanham.
The BKPC Nation has a mission to promote and further fishing as therapy, recreation, and sport through conservation, education, networking, and fundraising. On Saturday October 16, 2021, they held the Isaac Strong Catfish Classic on Guntersville Lake.
Isaac Lanham was diagnosed with Pre B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on June 1. He was 12 years old at the time. The Catfish Classic was designed to support the Lanham family as they battle cancer.
When the weights had been recorded and scored at the Waterfront Bay Grocery and Tackle Capt. Josh Brown, had the winning weight.
First Place
Capt. Josh Brown, fishing with clients, brought 83 pounds to the scales to claim the top spot. The bag included a 40.6-pound blue.
“We fished ledges in 30 to 40 feet of water,” reported Brown. “It was basically a game of catching one fish per spot. We would mark one good fish on the electronics and anchor on it. We would catch it within about 15 minutes. We repeated that process all day.”
Brown said the weather was the worst setup possible. Tournament day was the first day following a major cold front. The winds were blowing at 20 mph out of the north and it was bluebird skies.
“The weather had them pushed into the mud,” continued Brown. “And they just wouldn’t move very much. We had to lay the bait on their nose to get a bite. They wouldn’t eat skipjack heads only the bodies. They also wouldn’t touch a Santee Cooper rig. The bait had to be laying on the bottom for them to eat it.”
“I gave the real check back for the cause,” said Brown in a Facebook post. “So I’m excited to have a giant copy of it. Man cave memorabilia!”
Brown can be reached through his Backwoods Catfishing Guide Service.
Equipment used: Monster Rod Holders, Big Cat Fever Rod Series, Slime Line Fishing Line, Spread Em Planer Boards, and OUTTA LINE ROD RACKS.
Second Place
The runner-up spot went to Secody Howard and Adam Michael Wright. They teamed up to bring enough weight to earn the second-place honors.
“We caught 8 fish during the tournament,” reported Wright. “The biggest being 35 pounds. All our fish were caught while anchored and casting out the back of the boat.”
“I’d like to thank the Lanham family and Isaac,” said Wright. “They were an absolute blast to be around. I’d also like to thank all the anglers that came out to support the event, all the sponsors of the event, and Joey Middleton with BKPC NATION for hosting the event.”
Wright also sent out a special thanks to Chris Sapp and the Dry Creek Marine crew. It seems that Charles T. Crook and Wright had planned to go out and do some prefishing because Crook was planning to take Isaac out on tournament Saturday for the event. When they pulled out of the harbor the boat began running rough and then shut off. They made a quick call to Sapp and he said to bring the boat in.
“Chris went above and beyond,” recalled Wright. “He had all hands on deck working to get it going again. A few hours later he had everything back up and running better than new. Chris and the Dry Creek mechanics did a fantastic job and saved the day.”
With Crook’s boat running again, Isaac got to fish Saturday!
Third Place
Chad Bryant and John Hogland had the third-place weight. They fished the upper end of the lake which is more like a river.
“We were fishing on the rope and targeting structure,” reported Bryant. “The first good fish we caught were holding really tight to a ledge. So we decided to target similar areas with structure. We were using skipjack for bait but we were not able to pattern a particular size preference on the baits. We caught some on big baits and our big fish of the day came off a piece of body section not much bigger than a quarter.”
They said the bite usually came pretty quickly when they got to a new spot. They would only set up for 45 minutes or so before they would pull anchor and move on.
“We would like to thank Joey Middleton and the BKPC Nation for putting on the event and supporting young Isaac.
Equipment Used: Smackdown Catfishing, Dales Tackle, Partners in Slime, and River Rats Reel Repair
Fourth Place and Big Fish
Doug and Tiffany McAnally had fourth-place and Big Fish, just ounces behind John Hogland and Chad Bryant. Their big fish came early, shortly after fishing began on tournament day.
“Our lines hit the water about 7:30 am,” reported Tiffany. “We had just settled back in our chairs when number one took a rod tip dive towards the water. It was just five minutes after we got the skipjacks set.”
Doug jumped up and reeled down hard as he called out, “It’s a good one, Tiffy!”
“His call spurred me into action,” recalled Tiffany. “I grabbed the net and moved up to assist. By that time, Doug was struggling hard against the 44-pound blue. It almost pulled him into the water as the rod bent double and the tip actually went under the boat!”
“Pick up the motor!” Doug called out.
“I scrambled to do it,” said Tiffany. “The fish finally broke the surface and we knew it was gonna’ be a keeper.”
“There was good news at the tournament, too,” said Tiffany. “Young Isaac has one more chemo treatment after which it is expected that he will ring the bell to announce he’s in remission. I made him an Isaac Strong commemorative bell in anticipation of that great day. We are blessed to be able to be a part of the event. I think the tournament raised more than $7,000 for the family.”
Final Thoughts
“There were so many people involved that we couldn’t name them all,” commented Joey Middleton following the tournament. “We want to thank the entire catfishing community. I would like to give a special thanks to Chris Sapp at Dry Creek Marine for getting Charles Crook’s boat fixed so Isaac could still fish Saturday. Isaac and Charles are big buddies.”
“We were able to raise $7000 in cash and tons of amazing gifts from many different individuals that attended,” concluded Middleton. “The love the entire catfishing community showed this family was inspiring. The Lanham family left Alabama with a refreshed sense of family. We were also able to share some amazing news. Isaac had a Dr’s appointment Wednesday morning before he left for his weekend and was given the news we have all been praying for. He is in remission and will have one final round of treatment at the end of this month and will be done and get to ring that bell. God is good.”
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