11th Place & $300
Mid States Tournament Association
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Smithville Lake
Kelley and Terrill Win the Opening Tournament of the 2007 Season!
Lake Level  863.29, releasing 100 c.f.s.
Water Temperature  55 to 63 degrees
Weather  Sunny and windy, high of 81 degrees. Wind gust up to 30 M.P.H. from the South.
63 Boats
Reported by Tom Alsop  Smithville Marine, Stratos Boats, Evinrude Motors, 7/24 Outdoors, Shoreline Collision Repair, Falcon Rods, Spro, Tru-Tungsten and Flying Fisherman Sunglasses sponsor Tom.
Summer like conditions greeted the 126 anglers that converged on Smithville Lake to fish the first 2007 event for the Mid States Tournament Association (MSTA). Smithville Marine put a lot of effort in to pairings and details to make this first of five qualifying tournament run smoothly. The MSTA has had a loyal following the past few years and is growing each year, with this tournament having a total of 63 boats on the day. The MSTA is a unique tournament in that it is a draw tournament that ends up fishing like a buddy tournament, the boater and the non-boater combine their fish together for the teams total. A maximum of five fish are brought to the scales for the team. It has become a very popular format for anglers, with a very laid back attitude, the boater and the non-boater encourage each other to catch fish, unlike a pro-am tournament, which makes for a very enjoyable day for both anglers in the boat. With a $120.00 boater entry fee and $65.00 non-boater entry fee, it is a very cost friendly tournament for local anglers.
With a total of 5 regular season tournaments and a Championship at the end of the year that will award the winning Championship boater a new Stratos 285 Pro XL with a 150 Evinrude E-tec Motor professionally rigged by Smithville Marine and the non-boater Championship winner taking home a $1,000 in cash and a fully transferable $2,500.00 certificate for the purchase of a new Stratos boat at Smithville Marine, it is the most affordable and most enjoyable circuit in the Midwest that offers the chance to win big in the end! Each qualifying tournament also offers big cash incentives for anglers running boats purchased from Smithville Marine.
1st Place went to the team of Steve Kelley from Greenwood, MO and his non-boater partner Jim Terrill from Kansas City, MO. Their 5 fish limit weighed in at 16.25 lbs. Steve won $1,260.00 for first place on the boater side and Jim took home $540.00 for non-boater first place. JimÂs non-boater big fish on the day (5.45 lbs.) sealed the victory for the team, which he caught on a creature bait. All of their other fish came on a ÂBurtons special spinnerbait. (You will have to call Burtons Bait and tackle for details  816-532-4659.) Steve also won an additional $1,000.00 from Smithville Marine for winning the tournament in a Stratos boat purchased from Smithville Marine.
2nd Place winners were Gary Miller from Kearney, MO and Joe Dorcy Sr. From Smithville, MO. This team brought in a five fish limit that tipped the scales at 14.15 lbs. This team had one on a jig, one on a spinnerbait and 3 on a crankbait, all in the backs of the cuts in shallow water. The key for this team was to fish a slow as possible. The team had a total of 6 bites on the day with one being a short fish. Gary took home $840.00 on the boater side and Joe Sr. took home $360.00 on the non-boater side.
Jeff Stout from Shawnee, KS and Doug Nordland from Gladstone, MO brought in 4 fish that weighed 13.13 lbs., which was good for a third place finish. The teamÂs catch was anchored by JeffÂs boater big bass of the day, weighing in at a strong 6.14 lbs.; all of their fish were caught on stickbaits shallow. Jeff won $560.00 for third place on the boater side and Doug won $240.00 for third place on the non-boater side. Jeff won an additional $600.00 for boater big bass.
4th place - Jim Talley and Dean Dakin - 3 fish, 11.71 lbs. Team total of $700.00.
5th place - Aaron Olsen and Shannon Reffitt - 4 fish, 11.70 lbs. Team total of $600.00.
6th place - David Allen and Jason Rissler - 4 fish, 11.60 lbs. Team total of $550.00.
7th place - Butch Lansing and Tom Twombly - 3 fish, 10.14 lbs. Team total of $500.00.
8th place - Al Sneed and Richie Hutchings - 5 fish, 10.11 lbs. Team total of $450.00.
9th place - Jim Sloan and Jin Nguyen - 3 fish, 9.30 lbs. Team total of $400.00.
10th place - Mike Payne and Wayne Berry - 3 fish, 9.00 lbs. Team total of $350.00.
11th place - Tom Alsop and Bill Horvath - 3 fish, 8.70 lbs. Team total of $300.00.
12th place - Gary Burton and Mike Thomas - 3 fish, 8.60 lbs. Team total of $250.00.
Non-boater big fish went to Jim Terrill from Kansas City, MO with a 5.45 lb. fish - $300.00.
2nd place non-boater big - Kenny Shinn, 4.55 lbs. - $180.00.
3rd place non-boater big - Tim Green Jr., 3.90 lbs. - $120.00.
Boater big fish went to Jeff Stout, 6.14 lbs. - $600.00.
2nd place boater big - Jim Talley, 5.70 lbs. - $360.00
3rd place boater big - Butch Lansing, 5.11 lbs. - $240.00
Dave Letourneau was the highest finisher to run a non-Stratos boat purchased from Smithville Marine and won $250.00 just for running a boat purchased from Smithville Marine.
There was many other sponsor prizes awarded including, J.D. Reece (Janet Brooks) who awarded the first team out of the money with cash! Go to mstaonline.com for complete details and official standings.
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