Winter Blues on Wheeler presented by Bottom Dwellers Tackle was a testament to the toughness of catfish anglers. They battled cold and windy weather to showcase a growing sport and show what catfish anglers are made of. It all took place on Wheeler and Wilson Lakes where big catfish are king. Anglers could choose which of the two Alabama lakes they would fish.
Tournament director, Daniel Parsons, and weighmaster, Jody Harrison worked diligently through the unseasonably cold weather that lingered in the Rogersville, AL area. Mother Nature put both launch ramps used for the tournament in the deep freeze.
Boats frozen to trailers, trolling motors frozen to decks, and other cold weather anomalies were common occurrences. Flexible and limber drift socks and ropes, when deployed, came back stiff as a board. The fabric and ropes were covered with a coating of ice that formed as soon as they hit the wintery air.
Given the frigid temperatures, anglers layered clothing and used portable heaters to be as comfortable as possible. There was a tournament to be fished and a little cold weather wasn’t going to stop it.
There were 190 teams, from as far away as California, competing for a guaranteed $10,000 first place payoff and the possibility of a $50,000 payday if they broke the Alabama state record for blue catfish.
As the results started to come in Wheeler and Wilson Lakes had once again proved what a catfish fishery they are. The top seven big fish weights were more than 50 pounds. They included 78.85 pounds (Chappell and Chappell), 71.99 (Shugart and Southiere), 70.22 (Gentry and Gentry), 64.57 (Linscott and Brockman), 62.42 (Riddle and Riddle), 55.65 (Folsom and Folsom), and 52.70 (Thornton and Buckridge).
Nineteen of the top 20 teams topped 100 pounds total weight with a five-fish limit. The average weight was more than 20 pounds per fish.
Top honors and bragging rights for the 2018 Winter Blues on Wheeler went to Danny Ray Chappell and Bobby Chappell. The South Carolina team weighed in a total weight of 164.64 pounds, including the big fish of the tournament at 78.85 pounds. Their win earned them a check for $10,000 dollars for best weight and the Bottom Dwellers Tackle Big Fish Award of $500.
“We heard about Winter Blues from friends on Facebook,” reported Danny. “We have been planning this for about three months. I got some vacation time and we decided to come on down. We were fishing Wilson, so we stayed in the cabins near the Safety Harbor boat ramp. We scouted for a couple days and today we just moved up on a shallow flat and it payed off for us.”
Other than the cold weather Bobby described the trip as normal. “The cold weather affected the bite,” said Bobby. “I think it really made the fish hunker down. I don’t think the fish were suspended and moving like a lot of people expected.”
“We caught 14 fish continued,” Bobby. “We basically caught them out of two holes. Everybody though they were deep. We were fishing in 15 to 30 feet of water.”
“We initially thought the fish were going to be shallow,” added Danny. “As the day went on we could tell the fish had moved. We guessed they went deeper so we moved to a little deeper water and caught a couple more. We fished stationary using cut skipjack for bait. We caught a couple on heads, but most of our fish came on small baits. Our big fish came on a small fillet.”
Wilson Lake also hosted the second-place team. Tennessean Robert Scott Sr. is a frequent visitor to Wilson and claims it as one of his favorite catfish lakes. He teamed up with Roger Breedlove and Wesley Man for the Winter Blues event. They delivered a five-fish limit that weighed 152.16 pounds to claim the second spot and had a big one get away.
“We suspended over structure in 45 to 70 feet of water,” reported Scott. “The fish were tight on the structure. Wesley had a fish that slammed his rod and bent a rod holder. The fish ripped drag and went straight into a tree.”
The top five teams were rounded out by Shugart and Southiere with 143.34 pounds in third; M. Mitchell and J. Mitchell took the fourth spot with 143.30 pounds; the fifth spot went to J. Mayes and P. Brown with 135.62 pounds.
Winter Blues of Wheeler paid 25 places, honored the top team that included a women competitor and gave a great no weight prize.
The top team with a female competitor earned a check from Whisker Wear Apparel for $300. The prize went to Jamie Moore. She fished with her husband, Josh, and brother-in-law, Zed (Moore Brothers Catfishing). The team weighed in four fish at 117.10 pounds to claim 12th place overall.
The event also offered a no-weight prize. Anglers that zeroed out, or choose not to weigh in, had their names put in the hat for a drawing that awarded a first and second place no weight product package.
The first place no-weight package was about $2000 in product. It included a rod rack from Driftmaster Rod Holders, RigRap products, TomCat Rods, ABU Garcia Reels and more. The drawing was won by boat number 127, Billy Gentry and Terry Caylor.
The second-place no-weight winner was boat number 121, Wanda and Ron Barner. They received two TomCat Rods, Two Abu Garca 7000 Catfish specials reels, 60-pound Boga Grips and a $100 gift certificate from Bottom Dwellers Tackle.
The sunlight had faded and the night air began to cool more before the weigh-in was over. As the anglers departed most were vowing to be back next year, and that was exactly what was on Parsons’ and Harrison’s minds.
“First, I am just praying for safe travels home for all the anglers,” stated Parsons. “This is an amazing group of fishermen that would grit out the brutal conditions they faced in this tournament. But, they do it for a sport they love dearly.”
“We have an amazing crew that ran things efficiently and a city and tourism agency that is behind us 100%, concluded Parsons. “Jody and I now have the pleasure of planning the next Winter Blues by taking into account what we have learned from this one. Thanks to everyone. Hope to see you next year.”
“I especially want to thank the anglers that came,” added Harrison. “None of this is anything without them. See ya’ next year.”
Epilogue
Events like Winter Blues do not happen without loyal supporters. Winter Blues 2018 was supported by a host of sponsors, including: Bottom Dwellers Tackle, Driftmaster Rod Holders, Abu Garcia, Keep Alive, Zakk Royce Fishing Planer Boards, Daiichi Hooks / TTI Blakemore, RediRig Tackle, Hurricane Anchors, Tomcat Rods, American Fishing Wire, HI-SEAS, BogaGrip, Bigg Hoss Gear, Moonlite USA, Daniel Foley Spoon, and Dannco Venturi, and Drifting Stix.
If you would like to be a part of Winter Blues 2019, Harrison and Parsons can be reached through the Winter Blues Facebook page.
