The wind blew hard but it did not keep two catfish anglers from bringing in their personal best (PB) catfish at the March 19, 2016 Cabela’s King Kat competition. The water was low causing anglers watch for underwater hazards. Temperatures were mild, in the low 60’s, but 20 to 25 mph winds added yet another obstacle for anglers to deal with.
Two anglers with personal best, and the composition of the “under” fish, told the story in the end for the Wheeler Lake competition. Alabama law allows only one fish over 34 inches per person. That means in tournament competition any team can only weigh in two fish over 34 inches and 3 fish that measure less than 34 inches. The heaviest weight of 5 fish per day then determines the winner.
Anglers from 12 states competed in the weekend competition. Twenty-two of the 35 teams registered brought fish to the scales at Ingalls Harbor. At the end of the day it was the Driftmaster Rod Holder team of Jackie and Jonathon Cooksey that claimed the Wheeler Lake King Kat title and added a personal best to Jonathon’s scorecard. The team weighed in a total of 189.16 pounds.
Jonathan had registered his previous personal best only one week earlier right there on the same lake. He, his dad Jackie and David Shipman had teamed up to fish the Alabama Catfish Trail event on Wheeler. He boosted his previous PB of 60 pounds to 75 pounds and also claimed Big Kat honors for the day. “My PB only lasted a week,” said a victorious Jonathan. “I was glad to replace it with the 86.78 though.”
“Today was just one of those days where everything worked,” continued Jonathon. “We got the right bites and put them in the boat. To get a new PB along with first place and big fish prizes is an enormous blessing. To God be all the glory. Any of the other teams were capable of doing what we did today, it was just our day I guess.”
The competition at Wheeler was top notch. “You don’t get many opportunities like this with the quality of anglers that we fish against,” commented Jonathan. “We tried a little bit of everything during the day to get our weight. We targeted mostly drop offs and depth changes. We were using skipjack for bait rigged on snelled 9/0 Charlie Brown circle hooks. Our 3 fish under 34 inches were some of the best that we’ve had in a while. I caught the big fish while bumping in an area with some brush. The big fish and the quality under 34 inch fish are what made our day.” Continue reading – http://www.examiner.com/article/personal-best-catfish-rule-at-king-kat-on-wheeler-team-cooksey-wins