Viola Grubb’s first cast on a recent fishing outing at High Rock Lake produced a whopper: a 2-pound, 14-ounce crappie.
She had the crappie weighed at Dan Nicholas Park and then it was released in the Cheerwine Aquarium there. Viola is the wife of Cleo Grubb and they live in Spencer.
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Kirkley Russell caught a 40-pound sailfish while fishing on the “Russellhatt,” which is owned by Lee Russell of Salisbury.
The group was fishing the Steeples off Frying Pan Shoals April 25-26 at the Wrightsville Beach Spring Shootout.
Their catch also included blackfin tuna, dolphin that weighed up to 28 pounds and king mackerel.
“The sailfish we caught hit three of our baits before I was fortunate to hook him,” Russell said. His next fishing adventure is scheduled for the first weekend in June.
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Send a photo of your next catch to www.BoatUSAngler.com and you might win a $50 BoatU.S.Visa gift card.
BoatU.S., an association of recreational boaters, will take photos of freshwater and saltwater species, and a winner from each variety will be chosen each month through Oct. 31. Winners also get a framed Catch of the Month certificate, have their photos and names published in the organization’s magazine and get other items.
A grand prize winner for each category will be awarded at the end and will receive a high-quality fiberglass replica of their catch, created by Donnie Poore’s Fish’n Art, a $150 value. The saltwater winner gets a saltwater fishing reel.
Send high-resolution digital photos to info@BoatUSAngler.com or mail printed photos to BoatU.S. Angler, Catch of the Month Photo Contest, 880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304. Entries must comply with the contest rules posted at the association’s Web site. For more information, go to www.BoatUSAngler.com or call 866-906-0013.
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Sean Hoernke of Magnolia, Texas, pocketed $150,000 on April 27 for winning the National Guard Open on Lake Norman.
His final-round, two-day total of 10 bass weighed 27 pounds. He topped by 4 pounds runner-up Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., who earned $50,000 with 10 bass weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces.
FSN (Fox Sports Net) will televise the tournament as part of the “FLW Outdoors” TV series on June 15 and June 22.
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Deloris and Kenneth Shumate caught bass weighing 13.7 pounds and earned $1,280 in the N.C. Piedmont Fishers Of Men tournament at Lake Norman on April 19.
Second place went to Kenny Seagle with 13.54 pounds, worth $767.
The next tournament will be at High Rock Lake on Saturday, May 17. Visit www.fompiedmont.com for more information.
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William Kemp of Scotland Neck won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division tournament on Kerr Lake on May 3 with a five-bass catch of 14 pounds, 9 ounces.
Kemp earned $4,352.
Rounding out the top five boaters were Maurice Freeze of Concord (five bass, 14-04, $2,133); David Wright of Lexington (five bass, 14-04, $2,133); Chad Poteat of Mount Airy (five bass, 13-15, $1,195) and Chris Baldwin of Lexington (five bass, 13-13, $1,024).
Poteat took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $790 for a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Ken Fender of Dallas earned $2,561 as the co-angler winner with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Michael Davis of New London (five bass, 10-06, $1,280); John M. Cook of Matthews (four bass, 9-15, $726); Bobby Henderson of Charlotte (five bass, 9-15, $726) and Zach Lyles of Mooresville (four bass, 9-13, $512).
Justin Burleson of Albemarle, N.C., earned $395 as the co-angler Big Bass winner with a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass.
North Carolina Division anglers will be at Lake High Rock Lake on June 21 for their fourth regular-season event. A two-day Super Tournament, the division’s fifth and final event, will be held on Lake Norman in Terrell, Sept. 13-14.