Stoner's 22nd Annual Catch & Release
Bass Tournament

May 21st, 2016 --- Lake Fork, TX



Like last year, we had great weather for the tourney - high of 86, light winds, full lake. The fishing was a little off, but not too bad. And we sure had a lot of laughs. Thanks to everyone who came out.

See the Official Results section at the bottom of this page for a full roster of this year's contestants.




Dustin Cotten - 2016 Champion
Dustin won the tourney for the THIRD year in a row. And that 7.8 pounder is the first over-slot fish caught during my tournament since Lake Fork changed its slot to 16-to-24 inches. Congrats Dustin! The question is: will Dustin win for the 4th year in a row??




As usual, several of us ate crawfish at Bro's Patio the night before the tourney. The crawfish and corn were very good, but not as good as what Brian Bergstrom cooked at our annual Boil (and my 50th bday party) a few weeks earlier!




I didn't catch many fish that day, but I sure had fun!




Neil with a nice slot fish.




Jason fished in my boat again this year. We had quite a few laughs.




Jeff Cotten, Jr. fished with his son this year. And they fished out of Jeff's beautiful, brand new Ranger bass boat!




Jason's son didn't fish the tourney, but we did take him for a boat ride over lunch that day.




Jeff Cotten, Sr. about to weigh in some fish.




Jeff Cotten, Jr. at the weigh-in.




The Cotten Boys
Dustin, Jeff Jr, Austin, Jeff Sr




Dad was nice enough to come cook appetizers and burgers again while I weighed in people's fish. Everything he cooked was delicious. Thanks Dad!




Jeff Sr after the weigh-in. Thanks to my friend (and Eagle Claw rep) Alvin Fogleman, I gave away a nice Skeet Reese rod, a Skeet Reese reel, and two awesome filet knives. Thanks Alvin!




Jeff Jr and I did some night fishing after the tourney. We only caught a few fish, but Jeff caught that very nice 6-pounder.


Official Results

21 contestants x $20 entry fee = $420 total payout

First Place.........$210....Dustin Cotten (8.26 pounds)
Second Place....$105....Wayne Godwin (5.58 pounds)
Big Bass...........$105....Dustin Cotten (7.80 pounds)


Contestant

Heaviest
Bass

Total
Stringer Weight

 1. Dustin Cotten

7.80

8.26

 2. Wayne Godwin

1.38

5.58

 3. Theron Hall

5.52

 4. Ty Dyess

3.12

 5. Jeff Cotten, Jr.

1.06

2.90

 6. Brian Bergstrm

1.34

1.34

 7. Jeff Cotten, Sr.

1.16

1.16

 8. Jason Hale

0.98

0.98

 9. Neil Sanders

0.48

0.48

 10. Brad Stone

 11. Wayne Zartman

 12. Randall Dyess

 13. Will Kincaid

 14. Jim Rowley

 15. Tommy Faulkner

 16. Corey Hall

 17. Austin Cotten

 18. Larry Stevens

 19. Rick Stevens

 20. Mike Lewis

 21. David Lewis


   Note that some contestants may have chosen not to weigh-in their fish if they were small.
   Also, some contestants may have caught "slot fish" (currently 16-to-24 inches) that can't be weighed-in.




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