Four Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters’ teams still have a shot at the Angler Team of the Year (ATOY) honors. It all comes down to the competition on Truman Lake, Aug. 20 2016.
Being a measure of consistency over a long year of tournament fishing, the ATOY honor is a prestigious one. Anglers are judged on their best six finishes and one of them must be a One Pole Ultimate Challenge. With one tournament left in the 2016 ATOY competition the outcome will depend on the relative performance of each of the teams.
Cox and Hockett enter the final competition in the lead with 1172 points. They have several different ways to win, but especially if the other three don’t improve enough to overtake them.
“We have to finish better than eighth to gain any points,” explained Cox. “Charlie and Kevin are two points behind and have to finish higher than a 13th to gain any points. Kyle and Rodney are 10 points behind and have to beat a 17th to move up. So we can help our standing by having a real good finish but it’s out of our hands if Team Rodgers or Kyle and Rodney finish high enough.”
“It would be very special to win the point championship against the best crappie fisherman around,” continued Cox. They can seal the deal if they finish 11th or better. It they don’t, it starts to get messy and more teams have a mathematical chance of winning.
The father/son team of Charlie and Kevin Rogers follow close behind with a total of 1170 points. They can wrap it all up at Truman if they can finish in 3rd place or better.
Team Rogers plans a straight forward approach to the challenge. “I plan to fish like it’s just another tournament,” said Kevin. “I will not let the pressure get to me.”
It is actually more than the honor or the prize money for Kevin. “I want to win it for my 73-year-old father. We only have so many years left to fish together. It would mean the world to me to see him win it; he deserves it.”
Kyle Schoenherr and Rodney Neuhaus are next in line. They have 1162 points going into the final day. They have several ways they can win ATOY, all depend on the performances of the competing anglers.
“With four teams being close in the points race, there’s a lot of factors that are out of our control,” said Schoenherr. “We can’t control how productive a day our competitors have, but we’ll be giving it our best shot. We’ll definitely be putting in long hours during practice for the final event.”
“It would definitely be an honor to win it against the tough competition on the trail,” continued Schoenherr. “It would also mean a lot to win it, considering we only fished 8 events. I think that would be a season we could be proud of for sure!”
There has not been back to back wins for AYOY since Dan Dannenmueller and Bill Braswell did it in 2011 and 2012. However, Scott and Billy Williams could repeat if they won the tournament, Cox/Hockett finish 8th or worse, Team Rogers’ finishes 11th or worse, and Schoenherr/Neuhaus finish 8th or worse.
Unfortunately Team Williams has other challenges. They didn’t fish Mark Twain last week, and face issues in their business. “We need to fish Truman,” offered Scott. “Unfortunately, it’s a very critical part of the year for our crops and we can’t afford to be away from the farm right now. We’ve had problems with an irrigation well and those issues are still not resolved. I hope we can attend Truman but it doesn’t look good right now.”
“It would be a monumental moment for our fishing career to pull off a back to back ATOY,” continued Scott. “It has not been done for a long time. I think that if we get to go to Truman and pulled it off, it would lift us to another level in crappie fishing.”
Male/Female Division
Another good race in the 2016 competition is the Male/Female points race. Paul and Elizabeth Turner hold a two-point lead over Vic Finkley and Kim Gray.
Team Turner just won the Male/Female Division at Mark Twain and placed 2nd overall behind the team of Ruyle and Redinger in the event. They have accumulated 1172 points and stand at 6th place in the overall points race. It is definitely going to be a shootout in the division on August 20th.
Team Turner looks forward to the competition on Truman. “We would like to win, but honestly we’re just having fun,” commented Paul.
Finkley an Gray are close behind in the Male/Female Division with 1170 points. “Vic and I work very hard scouting locations and prefishing before the tournaments,” says Kim Gray. “We hope to go to this last tournament and finish with a great score.”
“Whatever our destiny on this last tournament at we at least know we tried our best,” continued Gray. “It would be a great honor to win ATOY, but whoever finishes strong in the end deserves every bit of it. It’s a great honor to fish with some of the best crappie fisherman in the country. We have had a great year and have made some great friends along the way.”
Eight Crappie Masters teams can look forward to a little recognition and prize money following the Truman Lake competition. The AOTY competition pays out the following:
First Place: $6,000 in cash; $1,500 Bass Pro Shops Gift Card; set of Power Poles with Drift Paddles
Second Place: $3,000 in cash; $1,000 Bass Pro Shops Gift Card
Third Place: $2,000 in cash; $500 Bass Pro Shops Gift Card
Fourth Place: $1,500 in cash
Fifth Place: $1,000 in cash
Sixth through Tenth Place: Sponsor Prizes
Top Male/Female Team: $1,000
Top Adult/Youth Team: $1,000
The national points champions will be recognized as Angler Team of the Year at the Crappie Masters national championship tournament at Grenada, MS, Sept. 29 thru Oct. 1, 2016.
“The points race is the ultimate test to determine who is the best out there week in and week out,” said Crappie Masters President, Mike Vallentine. “You have to be consistent, be able to adjust to all conditions, adapt to different lakes, and fish different styles. The August 20 competition on Truman is going to be fun to watch.”
For more information on Crappie Masters Tournament Trail visit their website.