North Alabama was well represented at the Crappie USA tournament at Ingalls Harbor recently.

In the semi-pro division, Aaron Barkley of Hartselle and Tommy Edwards of Moulton teamed to bring 5.76 pounds of crappie (seven fish or less limit) to the tournament scales, which gave them third place. For their efforts, the duo earned $400.

Paul Stackhouse Outdoors

They said they used Hal Fly jigs tipped with minnows. Also, they said just about any color combination was successful as long as it included chartreuse somewhere on the bait.

Taking the first-place prize of $1,000 was the Tennessee team of Larry and Vanice Parker. The pair brought 7.1 pounds of crappie to the scales.

The Parkers fished south of Ingalls Harbor all the way to Flint Creek, where they were bowing their rods using red/chartreuse Southern Pro jigs tipped with Nitro Gems. The fish were being caught in 8 to 14 feet of water in brushpiles that extended about 2 feet off the bottom.

Tommy and Jared Roper of Arkansas came in second with a weight of 6.64 pounds, which earned them $600.

The Ropers started the tournament day with boat problems that cost them over two hours of prime fishing time, and whether you are in a bass or crappie tournament, going two hours without getting any baits wet usually spells disaster. However, the team didn’t give in to the problems. Making up for lost time, the Ropers caught more than 20 crappie.

Tommy and Jared were fishing on the bottom in 10 feet of water using Crappie Magnet XL and jigs tipped with minnows in Flint Creek.

Amateur division

Just like the semi-pro group, North Alabama was well-represented in the amateur division of the tournament.

The Eva team of Scott and Crystal Echols claimed the first-place prize of $600 with a weight of 8.82 pounds.

To catch the crappie, Scott and Crystal slow-trolled creeks in 4 to 14 feet of water while using minnows.

The second-place team of Darrell and Freda Keil of Trinity brought a total of 7.61 pounds of crappie to the scales. For their efforts, the Keil’s earned $360. The pair were fishing the Decatur Flats in 10 feet of water using hand-tied jigs.

The third place team of John and Mathew Feagon came all the way to Wheeler Lake from Mayfield, Ky. The third-place weight was 7.48 pounds.

The local team of Roger Echols of Somerville and Steve Echols of Decatur claimed fourth place honors with a total weight of 7.14 pounds.

Big fish

Big fish honors went to the team of John and Mathew Feagon with a 1.95-pound slab that earned the duo $210.

The second-place team in the big fish competition actually had three anglers in the boat, which under certain conditions was legal in the tournament’s rules and regulations.

Kendall Smith, Kendall Smith Jr. and Leslie Smith of Tennessee brought a 1.70 pound crappie to the weigh-in that earned the trio $90.

For those of you interested in the team having three anglers in the boat, the third partner had to be under the age of 16. Also, the number of poles allowed is the same for three-partner team as it is with two anglers in the boat, so there is no tackle advantage.

To find out more about Crappie USA tournaments, visit crappieusa.com.