13th Annual Strike King Tournament Results

79 Boats showed up for the 13th Annual Strike King Bass Fish Off sponsored by 17th St. Bar & Grill held on Kinkaid Lake in Murphysboro, Illinois. The weather started out bad with heavy rain but eventually it cleared off. Early pre fishing reports were that anglers were catching them good, but the front moved through in the morning and it turned into a struggle. With the water being dirty almost all of the fish were caught very shallow. Four teams were able to bring in a five fish limit. David Guill and Lonnie Bowlin took top honors with their limit weighing 16.95 pounds. They received $2100.00. In second place were Ron Reeder and Lonnie Sadler. Their limit weighed 16.49 pounds. They took home $1300.00. In third place were Luke and Jim Budde. Their limit weighed 15.63 pounds. They won $1000.00. In fourth place were Jack and Ben Doan. Their five fish weighed 14.54 pounds. They took home $800.00. In fifth place were Scott Struense and Monty Cardroy. They weighed in four fish for 13.34 pounds. They received $600.00.
Here is 6th through 10th.


6th place Marc Sheffer- Kevin Reynolds 11.01 pounds $400.00
7th place John Lamaster- Jeromy Sullivan 10.62 pounds $300.00
8th place Josh Mileur- TJoe Grammer 10.50 pounds $200.00
9th place Cliff Pass- Richard Wagner 9.40 pounds $150.00
10th place Justin Moniger- CodyPage 9.32 pounds $115.00
1st place big bass Les Gordan- John Templeton 5.46 pounds $500.00
2nd place big bass Leslie Fred Jr.- Brian Gleason 5.38 pounds $200.00

This year was the first year not one but two keeper smallmouth was weighed in. The biggest was 2.51 pounds and Justin Moniger and Cody Page received $80.00 for their catch. This is the first time in the history of the lake that a keeper smallmouth was caught in a tournament.

I would like to thank all of my sponsors for helping out for this great event. Strike King Lure Company, 17th St. Bar & Grill, Ardent Reels, Vicious Fishing, Toney Chacheres Creole Seasoning, Southern Illinois Custom Crankbaits, and Bud Lite. These are the people that make this tournament such a huge success. I would like to my wife Heidi and my two girls for helping out with everything. Also I would like to thank all of the volunteers for helping with this event. Hope to see everyone next year.

Luke Estel