Local event Saturday to benefit the Fellowship of Christian Athletes

On Saturday there are big things happening in the Midway community near Union City.
The Fellowship Of Christian Athletes and Final Flight Outfitters 2011 Fellowship Of Christian Athletes Sporting Clay Shoot and Outdoors Show will take place from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on and near the grounds of the Final Flight Outfitters store. This is located just east of Union City on the Old Martin Highway or Highway 22.
Rookie BassMaster Elite Series pro Ben Parker will meet and greet the public from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., as well as host a Marine Electronics training program. Other guest speakers and demonstrations will include Bobby Wills, Lone Oak Kennels East, professional dog trainer; and world goose calling champion Kelley Powers.
A retriever demonstration will be held at 9 a.m. and a sporting clay shoot runs from 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Lunch is provided and a silent auction will be held for the event which raises money for the Northwest Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I encourage you and your family to drop by Final Flight Outfitters and check this event out.
There will be vendors and lots of other fun stuff for all ages so come on out and support a great organization in our area.
The Walmart Bass Fishing League is headed back to Kentucky and Barkley lakes this weekend for its fifth and final stop of the LBL Division tournament of the BFL. This will be a two-day super tournament where as many as 400 boaters and co-anglers will be competing for top awards up to $11,000 and $4,500, respectively.
Karl Cassens of South Fulton will be apart of this tournament and is living a dream, doing what he loves to do, competing in competitive bass fishing.
But Karl is a little different than most who will be fishing this event. His life changed last year in March 2010 due to a sudden illness.
Last year over at the Lake Of The Ozarks, Karl was fishing as a co-angler in the Everstart Series of the FLW Outdoors organization. He had a heart attack on the boat ramp while loading his professionals boat of that day. He didn’t realize what had happened until he had gotten home. This was the 20th day of March 2010.
He ended up having to have bypass surgery on the 23rd of March in 2010. He was very lucky man as he explained. He is on a mission and God is his leader and in control.
He went back to fishing June 4th of that same year at the Triton Owners Bass Tournament, which he finished in the top 20th out of 300-plus boats. He is using this as a ministry to the fishing world. God is really using him. This is his first year as a boater fishing the BFL Trail. The division is the LBL of the BFL. Some of his friends have been telling him to move up and fish on the pro side or otherwise known as the boater side of the tournaments. The entry fees also increase when you do so, but so does the winning prize, money.
Now with one tournament left, which is the two-day tournament, he is sitting in first place for AOL with a 36-point lead over his nearest competitor. He has been fishing for years on Kentucky Lake and a lot of people know him as well as respect him as a friend and fishermen.
If you ask bass anglers, most will tell you that winning the Angler Of The Year (AOL) is more important than just one tournament and bomb out the rest of the year. Winning AOL is being very consistent in each tournament finishing high in all of them but maybe not winning a single one. It can happen either way.
Takeoffs will be at Kentucky Dam Marina located at 446 Marina Drive in Gilbertsville at 6:30 each morning. Saturday’s weigh-in will be at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m., and Sunday’s final weigh-in is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Walmart located at 310 West 5th St. in Benton. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, offering bigger prizes to those who qualify for regional championships and those who make it to one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing — the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
Karl has already qualified for the BFL Regional Tournament and that will be held Nov. 4-6 on Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas.
Good luck Karl!
The 22nd Anniversary of the Reelfoot Lake Waterfowl Festival will be held at the Eagle Nest Resort in downtown Samburg Oct. 8-9 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information contact Chris Bugg (president), 270-830-6505 or Bernie Forte, 615-646-5572.
This year’s show will feature many of the nation’s best duck, goose and turkey call makers in addition to a large number of collectors’ exhibits. Also exhibiting will be vendors specializing in hunting clothes and gear, boating and accessories, duck and goose decoys, wildlife prints, wildlife artists and other waterfowl and hunting related vendors.
Nationally Sanctioned Duck Calling Competitions.
Duck Callers and fans of the sport will be glad to know that the CCAA (Callmakers & Collectors Association of America) Reelfoot Lake Working (Hunting) Call Contest and the Reelfoot Lake Grand American Duck Calling Championships will both be held during the festival. Duck Callers of all ages and specialties will find a place in this year’s competitions. Awards and prizes will be awarded in many categories with exact amounts to be announced soon.
More to come in the following weeks.
Keep in mind, the Tennessee 2011 early teal/wood duck season will start tomorrow through Wednesday.
I was also ask by Jeff Martin of the TWRA to pass along that the Watershed No. 17 in the Bogus Hollow area here in Obion County will be drained and closed until further notice. Some repairs and maintenance will be performed on this watershed lake.
Please take time on Sunday to reflect on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. How it changed America and the many families that still suffer from that day. I hope and pray that we will never see a day like that again. Also, please pray for all of the United States Armed Forces as they continue to protect us and help in keeping the war on foreign soils and not here. The military, their families and our leaders needs our daily prayers.
May GOD Bless America!
Til next week’s column,
catch ya on
the water folks.
Brent

Published in The Messenger 9.9.11

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