1st Annual DHF Copeland Classic

Big bags & pretty weather made for a great weekend of fishing for the 1st annual event hosted by DHF

When it was all said and done, it would've taken more than 38lbs. to top the duo of Adam Wagner (Cookeville, TN), who's been on fire winning two BFL events this year, and Jamey Wade (Bloomington Springs, TN), the team's co-angler. Not only did they weigh in 10 fish at nearly 4lbs. each, but they took home the Harris Oil Big Largemouth prize both days with a 5.23 lb Largemouth on Saturday and a 5.10 Largemouth on Sunday, bringing their total winnings to $2,000 for the weekend.

For their first Dale Hollow visit, Matt Hobson & Tabitha Donaldson of Nashville, Indiana took home the Punisher Lures Big Smallmouth prize on day 1 with a 2.06 under and grabbed $250 early. On Sunday, the winner of the $250 Big Smallmouth, sponsored by Darren Shell and his new book "The Big Ones", was Michael & Jason Stockton of Byrdstown, TN with a 2.41 under. It wasn't much of a surprise to anyone that unders won the two bonuses considering they're mostly locked on the bed this time of year.

It was a tight race after the first day, with 5 teams weighing over 15 lbs. of fish, and 7 teams within 3 lbs. of each other. Overall 40% of the participants hit their 5 fish limit on Saturday, and over 50% limited out on Sunday.
Three other teams brought over 30 lbs. of fish to the scales, including 2nd Place finishers Michael Morrison (Prestonsburg, KY) & T.J. McDonald (Lexington, KY) with 16.70 lbs. on day 1 and 15.93 on day 2 for an impressive 32.63 lbs. total on 10 fish for the weekend.

Coming in a close 3rd Place was Marty Shelley (Byrdstown, TN) and Robert Reagan (Byrdstown, TN) with 10 fish - 14.61lbs. on day 1 and 16.09 on day 2 for a grand total of 30.70 lbs.

The 4th Place spot went to Todd & David Beaty (Cookeville, TN) who nearly got left out of the standings due to a computer error, but thankfully it was caught early enough and taken care of.  The father-and-son team brough in 10 fish - 15.40 on day 1 and 14.83 on day 2 for a total weight of 30.23 lbs., less than 1/2 lb. from 3rd.

The rest of the top 10 finishers were:

• 5th Place:  Billy Joe Johnson & Robby Johnson - 10 fish, 29.13 lbs.
• 6th Place:  Jeremy Flatt & Dusty Fleming - 10 fish, 27.68 lbs.
• 7th Place:  Jerry Reagan & J.B. King - 10 fish, 27.50 lbs.
• 8th Place:  J.R. Stalcup & Perry Neathery - 10 fish, 27.39 lbs.
• 9th Place:  Donnie Harris & Ricky Lynn - 10 fish, 25.74 lbs.
• 10th Place: Billy Tucker & Lance Holland - 9 fish, 25.45 lbs.

We'd like to thank our sponsors for their generosity in helping us put the first of many DHF tournaments together:

Copeland Real Estate & Auction
Cedar Hill Resort
All-Pro Rods
Daren Shell ("The Big Ones")
Harris Oil
Punisher Lures
one7 media
Sportsman Center
Pepsi
Berkley (Pure Fishing USA)

We'd also like to thank everyone who participated this past weekend.  Although we didn't have the turnout that many expected, you guys helped us start something that's only going to grow for many years to come.

Here's some more photos from the weekend.  If you have photos that you would like to include, please e-mail them to hooked [at] dalehollowfishing.com.
Click to Enlarge - Use the arrows to move to the next photo.