Lexington, SC – June 8, 2021 - On Saturday, June 5th, the Strike King team held the fourth and final Big Bass Challenge event of the season on beautiful Table Rock Lake, nestled in the scenic Ozark Mountains. Following a long run of rain and overcast skies, anglers were greeted with the first period of clear, warm and stable weather the Ozarks had seen for some time.
Friday evening, anglers came out to the tournament site Port of Kimberling Marina to claim free Lew’s rods and talk fishing with Lew’s and Strike King MLF Pro Circuit anglers Billy McDonald and Greg Bohannan.
Starting off tournament Saturday with a pair of nearly four-pound smallmouth bass, anglers brought to the scales a mixture of smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass throughout the day. Each period winner was awarded $750, with a total of $1,875 paid out each of the two-hour periods plus numerous prizes awarded from Lew’s, Strike King, Lucas Oil, Black Rifle Coffee Co. and Mammoth Coolers. Many participants were able to walk away with numerous drawing prizes for weighing in “keeper size” fish as well.
In the end, Springfield, MO native David Walker won the top prize with a 4.69 lb. largemouth he caught in the third period, coming out on the winning end of a tie breaker with Dustin Cox’s nearly identical 4.69 lb. fish. David finished the day with over $5,800 in cash and prizes between his big bass winnings and prize drawings, taking home a $5,000 “total boat makeover” from Lew’s and Strike King.
Walker caught the winning fish on a jig with a green pumpkin colored Strike King Rage Craw. “That was the only fish I caught all day,” said Walker. “We were fishing bluff ends with rock, brush piles and structure we just knew were there. My heart’s still racing from the excitement.”
Jason McKee, Vice President of Marketing for Lew’s and Strike King, stated, “We are thrilled with the outcome of the 2021 Big Bass Challenge Series. Throughout the course of the year, we hosted nearly 500 competitors on four great fisheries. We saw a lot of young anglers fish their very first tournament. We saw people catch their personal best and watched a lot of folks fall in love with fishing. We were honored to be a part of that. And for our team, it was great to end the season in the Ozarks - a place where the Lew’s brand is deeply ingrained in the fishing culture.”
Overall Big Bass Results:
1st – David Walker, 4.69 lbs.
2nd – Dustin Cox, 4.69 lbs.
3rd – Todd Noll, 4.45 lbs.
4th – Jeremy Medina, 4.37 lbs.
Strike King partnered with the Midwest Fish Tournaments organization, known for running the highly successful Anglers in Action and Big Bass Bash events throughout the midwestern United States region. The team at Strike King is proud to have partnered with an organization with top-notch equipment and even better personnel to help make the event a success.
Safety and sanitation for Table Rock Lake and all other 2021 events was provided by Mammoth PPE Products.
