NACT Tourney Top Honors Go to Team Bama Outdoor Adventures
by Ron Presley
First-place honors, Top Lady Angler, Top Youth Angler, and a couple of personal bests all played a part in the win for this team of family and friends.
The North Alabama Catfish Trail (NACT) held its 3rd event of the 2024 season on Wilson Lake out of Safety Harbor Boat Ramp. In the interest of angler safety, the NACT event was moved from Saturday to Sunday because of the predicted weather. Most anglers agreed that It was the right judgment.
“The wind was bad on tournament morning but tapered off throughout the day,” recalled tournament competitor Chad Bryant. “The date change was a good decision. That lake gets out of hand in 30-plus mph gusts. There is zero reason to take a risk with angler safety at all”
Sunday was nicer than Saturday and competing teams enjoyed some good Tennessee River fishing. Fishing hours were 6:30 am to 3:30 pm with anglers required to be at the scales by 3:30 pm.
First Place 
The top spot at NACT went to Jessie, Becky and Jessa Lanham, Brad Davis, and Jason Brewer. They teamed up to bring 96.36 pounds to the scales to earn the first-place spot. Their bag included youth angler Jessa’s personal best at 64.35 pounds. Becky also got her personal best weighing 11.3 pounds on her way to earning the Top Lady Angler Award.
Fishing under the team name of Bama Outdoor Adventures, the team is relatively new to tournament fishing. Jessie and Becky are husband and wife and Jessa is their daughter. Brad Davis is a friend that the Lanthams met while fishing tournaments last year. Jason Brewer is a Lantham friend who also loves to fish.
The Lanhams are originally from Mr. Hope, AL but travel from Livingston AL to fish the tournaments. Brad is from Indiana, and Jason lives in Mt. Hope. They had all the right ingredients for a winning team and their dedication paid off on tournament day.
“We have worked hard learning catfishing techniques over the past year,” explained Becky. “It is very challenging, but worth the time and effort. We are very proud of our first win.”
The team competed without prefishing except for one day from the bank behind Davis’s Cabin. They talked about a strategy before the tournament as far as where to fish. Based on previous experience they made a plan and were ready to go on tournament morning.
“We fished open water on the main lake,” noted Davis. “Past experience on Wilson helped us choose a spot and it treated us well. We caught fish all day, mostly in water that ran about 40 feet deep. We were dragging B-Kat Boards behind B’n’M and TFR rods using skipjack for bait. We fished hard and fought hard through the wind and stuck to our game plan.”
“The weather was challenging,” added Becky. “There were high winds and strong currents, but overall it turned out to be a nice day on Wilson Lake dragging deeper waters. We also anchored some later on in the day. After catching a limit early we spent time culling to improve our weight. It was an awesome day for our team.”
“We had a plan made up and it worked,” concluded Davis in a Facebook post following the tournament. “1st place on Wilson Lake is an accomplishment that means the world to me as well as our team. Thank you to everyone who has helped along the way. We aint done yet….. BAMA OUTDOOR ADVENTURES!!!!!”
Second Place 
The runner-up spot went to solo angler Jackson Mitchell. Mitchell weighed in a total weight of 91.72 pounds to earn 2nd place.
Third Place and Big Fish 
The third spot went to the Father/Son team of William and Wyatt Parrish. They teamed up to bring 80.34 pounds to the scales to earn 3rd place honors. They added Big Fish of the tournament at 67.37 pounds and Wyatt added the Top Youth Angler Award to their honors.
Fourth Place 
David Ryals and Tim Adams claimed the 4th spot with a total weight of 76.49 pounds. Ryals also won the Top Veteran Angler Award.
Fifth Place 
Bringing home the 5th place weight was Edward Andersen and Alyssa Bell. The male/female team brought 70.72 pounds to the scales to earn the 5th spot.
Top Youth 
The Top Youth Award sponsored by Parks Planner Boards went to Jessa Lanham. Jessa was fishing with her mom and dad, and two family friends when the 64.35-pound blue was boated. The Top Youth Award is sponsored by KatMama Industries.
Top Lady Angler 
The Top Lady Angler Award goes to Becky Lanham. She was fishing with the first-place team which weighed in at 96.36 pounds. The NACT Lady Angler Award is sponsored by KatMama Industries.
Top Veteran Angler 
The Top Veteran Angler was David Ryals. He was fishing with Tim Adams. They brought a total weight of 76.49 pounds to the scales and Ryals received Top Veteran honors, sponsored by Wheeler Lake Rentals.
Final Thoughts
The NACT is a family-friendly tournament trail aimed at fishing for old-fashioned fun. Tournament director Lisa Gail Haraway has assembled a great group of sponsors, volunteers, and anglers to accomplish her goals for 2024.
“We had a great turnout,” said Tournament Director Lisa Gail Haraway. “Everyone had a fun competitive day with great weather to fish in. We had a lot of new teams in the winner’s bracket too. It’s so encouraging and exciting to see so many new anglers winning. Their dedication is paying off.”
“I hope to see every one of them back next month,” concluded Haraway. “We will be competing again on Wheeler Lake out of Ingalls Harbor in Decatur, Alabama, on April 13, 2024.”
For more information on North Alabama Catfish Trail visit their website or follow them on Facebook.
