Tim Pentecost and Lane Pentecost of Leesburg are headed to the largest crappie tournament in the world in Branson Missouri on Table Rock Lake to fish for $200,000 in cash. 100 of the best teams in the country have been personally invited by Wally Marshall.
Practice for the 3 day tournament starts October 25th thru October 28th and then the tournament starts on Thursday October 29th. At weigh inn on the 29th 50 teams will be eliminated and 50 will continue on October 30th. October 30th 25 more teams will be eliminated and the final 25 teams will battle for a $200,000 purse.
“On June 30th I received a phone call from Wally Marshall. We talked about fishing for 45 minutes and then he asked me if I would like to fish the $200,000 Mr. Crappie Invitational at Table Rock Lake. I was at a loss of words. He asked me to think about it and give him a call back in a couple of days. Just a couple of weeks earlier I was telling my fiance Lynne Williams if I ever got invited to fish that tournament I would have to find a way to do it. Just being invited is an honor. I never imagined that phone call would actually come in such a short time after our conversation. So the next day after being invited by Mr. Crappie himself our work began. I visited our sponsors and they were all in. There’s no way I would have been able to make the trip without their help. The Cold Creek Honey Company, Coosa Corner, Yellow Creek Falls Fish Camp, Red Rooster Custom Baits, Weiss Internet, East Alabama Truss, HITEKSTUFF.COM, Southside Garage Doors, Decks and Docks, Cherokee County Chamber, K9 Fishing Products and TMC Graphics and of course we want to thank Wally Marshall. I also have some of the best friends in crappie tournament fishing also. I have a lot of extra equipment to carry in case of breakdowns.”
“Our goal is to go learn the lake and find some good fish during the 4 days of practice. We have never fished Table Rock Lake but the lake has been off limits to everyone in the tournament since March. Competitors are also not allowed to ask advice about the lake from guides or other anglers but can research on the internet.”
“We want to thank all of the people that have and are supporting us. It is truly an honor to have so much community support in this once in a lifetime opportunity.”