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Dogwood Blossom Fishing Tournament Results
The 2008 Apalachicola Flathead Catfish Tournament Trail kicked off for the year at Gaskin Park in Wewahitchka, Florida, at 4:00 pm CT, on Friday, March 28, 2008 with a new tournament in the series. The weather was beautiful both days and the rivers were cooperative with plenty of water and enough flathead catfish to make an interesting competition.
The First Annual Dogwood Blossom Flathead Catfish Tournament was a rousing success for a first tournament. Even with the rivers being higher than in recent months and the bait for flathead (bream) out in the sloughs, Mother Nature graced us with enough water to fish in, launch boats, and navigate the timber snags and sandbars.
The tournament boasted 76 fisherpersons in 45 boats, weighing in 99 flathead catfish at 1,062.74 pounds and 3 channel catfish at 59.31 pounds. It was sponsored by T. Cooper Outdoors of Walnut, Mississippi, and Bay County Search and Rescue, Panama City, Florida. Funds will be used to help Bay County with equipment and supplies as they are a volunteer organization that was started about a year ago by Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithan and headed by James Minchew, Manager.
Bay County Search and Rescue handles any duty that assists the sheriff's office with manpower to relieve the sworn officers by using volunteer services. These duties can include divers, K-9 units, water recoveries, land searches, missing children, plane crashes, cold case searches. Presently, membership numbers over 200 including retired military as well as various other members of the community.
Anyone wishing to make a tax deductible donation or discuss joining the organization can contact Jim Balch, Assistant Manager, at 850-769-7904 or their Website: www.baycountysar.org
Assisting Bay County Search and Rescue in their fundraising efforts is Tommy Cooper, owner of T. Cooper Outdoors in Walnut, Mississippi. Tommy visited the Wewahitchka area about 4 or 5 years ago fishing the Florida Catfish Classic and enjoyed himself so much he came back again, again, and again. He decided Bay County Search and Rescue was a great endeavor and volunteered his services to assist in their fundraising by co-sponsoring the Dogwood Blossom Tournament.
Tommy Cooper believes in promoting family fishing and has information about such ventures on his website www.tcooperoutdoors.com so please be sure to visit him there and see pictures from the Dogwood Blossom tournament he plans to post.
His future plans for the tournament include a Kid's Division for ages 14 and under at the 2009 tournament. To quote him: "Fishing is about family. When you take a kid fishing and you teach them all the things that go into being an outdoorsman or woman, you are teaching them, not only how to catch fish, you are teaching them about life! Respect, conservation, responsibility and integrity are just a few of the lessons that can come from fishing and hunting."
Winners for the First Annual Dogwood Blossom Flathead Catfish Tournament are:
1st place Flathead John Hamlin Bristol, FL 33.99 lbs $1,000
2nd place Flathead Carmen McLemore Wewa, FL 31.24 lbs $500
3rd place Flathead Ray Manus Valrico, FL 30.52 lbs $400
4th place Fathead Gene Smith Leary, GA 27.25 lbs $300
5th place Flathead Matt Perkins Bristol, FL 26.16 lbs $200
Largest freshwater catfish other than flathead
Ken Sumner Bristol, FL 26.71 lbs $200
