The 6th Annual Lake Fork Catfish Classic on June 21 & 22

The 6th Annual Lake Fork Catfish Classic (formerly known as the Yantis Catfish Classic) is schedule for June 21 & 22 at Oak Ridge Marina. The two-day big fish event is open to all except local Catfish Guides and provides a guaranteed Payout of $24,000. There are seven hourly weigh-in periods each day and bonuses are paid to the anglers weighing the seven largest catfish during the two-day event. The Early Entry Fee is $70 for one day or $110 for both. The Entry Fee increases by $10 for those registering after June 13. Kids 12 and under fish for free if accompanied by a paying adult.

Several rules changes have been made in 2014 to help ensure that both boaters and those fishing from the bank or docks are treated equally. The Catfish Classic’s founder, the Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association, has also joined forces with the Lake Fork Area Chamber of Commerce who ran their own tournament for several years prior to the Classic. The Chamber’s tournament experience and relationship to area merchants is invaluable in helping assure the continued growth of the mid-summer Classic.

On-line registration and other information are available at www.lakeforksa.com. Entry Forms can also be found at most Lake Fork area merchants. Late Registration will be available from 3:00pm-9:00pm at the Oak Ridge Marina on Friday, June 20, and from 5:30 to 7:00am on both mornings of the Tournament.

For more information, call the Tournament Director at 903-763-2191.

will see you then.

Is this not part of the Ken Freeman trail anymore? I noticed he is having one this weekend? Im confused????

Freeman is doing his own thing. We wish him well.

That's what I heard, thanks for the info....

Recap:

Individual Two-Day Big Fish Competition
Oak Ridge Marina
June 21 & 22
Total Payout - $24,000
7 Hourly Payouts each day with total of $1000/hour
Overall Big Fish - $5000
Overall Winners in the Bonus $ - Top 7
Additional Bonus for top Senior, Youth, and Female
Youth 12 & Under Fish for Free with a Paying Adult
Early Registration Deadline - June 13
Details & Register @ www.lakeforksa.com

Sponsored by The Lake Fork Sportsman's Association
and Lake Fork Area Chamber of Commerce.

its tempting ! but dang its gonna be hot LOL

The scales close at 2:00 each day. Bring a big hat and sun screen & you can handle it ---

For those who have not fished this tournament - it is awesome! They pay every hour and fish as small as 4 lbs win money some hours! The Lake Fork Sportsman's Association does a great job of making this a fun event. Bring your kids (under 12 fish free with a paying adult!). All it takes is one bite and it could be the $5000 fish! Or a $400 fish for the hour!

Why leave out guides ,people bait docks out worse then guides .I don't know of one guide ever winning this tournament yet.same people win almost every year.The other catfish tournament let guide fish.Go figure just my two cents .

The dock boys do real well in these tourneys.

Sorry, Stubby, but a professional Lake Fork catfish guide would clearly have an advantage over all other anglers. We believe that this is an important restriction.

Yes, ChuckP, some dock anglers do well, but there is plenty of prize money spread out among the entire field of contestants. Here is an excerpt from last years Final Results Press Release. Most of those who won major bucks were from out of the area. If more would concentrate on flatheads and blues, the bonus prize margins could be even greater.

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(June 27, 3013 - Lake Fork, TX)...Lake Fork’s Fifth Annual two-day Catfish Classic concluded on Sunday with Phil Johnson of Heath, Texas taking the top bonus prize for the largest tournament fish overall. Johnson landed his 37.4 pound flathead catfish early on Sunday morning while fishing deep-water boat docks with live bait. Including the hourly payout, Johnson collected a total of $6400 for the Tournament.

Johnson and all the other Tournament anglers competed individually for big catfish with cash prizes awarded for the five largest fish weighed each hour and a bonus jackpot paid to the those catching the top eight fish overall.

Fifteen year-old John Hill of Denison took second place and pocketed $3400 in hourly and bonus money for a 10.55 pound channel cat weighed during the final fishing hour on Saturday. Cody Beaver of Emory captured third place and a $1900 reward for a 10.45 pound flathead cat that he caught early on Saturday. Charles Smith of Quitman and James Nugent of Weatherford tied for fourth with 8.4 pound channels. Each pocketed checks of $850 for their efforts.

There was also a tie for 6th place between Bobby Driskell of Grapeland and Troy Amason of Irving. Each collected $650 for an 8.3 pound channel. Eighth place and $500 in total was awarded to Donnie Fountain of Jasper, Georgia for his 8.2 pounder.

The most active hourly winner was Phillip Lasswell of Lufkin with 5 fish weighed during the course of the two-day tournament. Roger Stroman of Emory had 4 fish in the money while both Paul Miles of Lake Dallas and Charles Driskell of Grapeland had 3.

The top youth anglers were Dustin Worley with a 3.85 pound channel cat. He was followed closely by his sister, Amber Worley, with a 3.45 pounder. The youngsters are both from Huffman. April Oney from Longview took top ladies honors with 6.35 pounds. Roy Oney, also of Longview, topped all other seniors with a 6.65 pound channel.

The final day for early entry is Friday, June 13. Save $10 on your entry and get a place in the Early Entry special drawing if your entry is made on-line, in person at Oak Ridge Marina, or post-marked by the 13th. Otherwise, you can still enter by cash or credit card during Tournament Registration with the added charge.

We hope to see you at the tournament.

www.lakeforksa.com

Actually the same people aren't winning every year. The docks cannot be baited the last week before competition. I live on the lake and fish my dock. Haven't won it yet. I'm hoping this is my year!

The docks aren't supposed to be baited but how many folks turn their automatic feeders off

We can't stop everyone on the Lake from baiting their docks, but we do disqualify a fish that was caught in an area where baiting outside the regulated hours might have been influenced by a contestant. Here are the two polygraph questions that pertain to the baiting or chumming rule. Catches have been disqualified in the past when the angler could not answer these questions with a "no".

5. Did you bait or chum the area where you caught your catfish at any time this past week prior to 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning?

6. Did you catch your catfish in an area that was baited or chummed by a friend, relative, or neighbor at any time this past week prior to 6:00 am on Saturday morning?

The entry fee increases by $10 at midnight tonight. Register on-line or get your entry post-marked today to save a few coins and get a chance to win some extra bucks at the early entry drawing. Otherwise, we wish all anglers the best of luck and we'll see you at Registration.

Sam,

Is this thing going to be polygraphed? $5,000 for first place will sure bring the cheaters out....if I knew there was a polygraph for 1st place i'd show up???? Thanks....

We run polygraphs every hour throughout the tournament and prior to paying the overall bonus checks, we make sure that all the top finishers have been polygraphed. It works!

they check everyone really close to keep the cheating out. it is a very well run tournament smoky.

That's not good enough, there's no way to keep the cheating out without a polygraph!

Smokey, they polygraph every hour and also insure the Top finishers are polygraphed. You should come out and pick up a check!

Everyone who plans to fish or visit the tournament needs to get in on this year's raffle. The featured item is a Henry Golden Boy rifle valued at over $500. A sincere thanks goes out to Lake Fork Firearms for their generous contribution.

The rifle and about $2000 worth of other prizes makes this raffle one you don't want to miss. Tickets will be available during Friday registration from 3:00pm - 9:00pm and throughout the tournament hours on Saturday and Sunday. The drawings will take place immediately following the awards presentation on Sunday.

Will we need to print a copy of our receipt if
we paid on line?

Won't hurt to bring it, but if your payment processed through paypal, we only need your name.

Congratulations to the top anglers for the two-day event:

1st - Steve Jones - Dallas - 13.15 pounds, $5000
2nd - Larry D. Jenkins - Daingerfield - 8.72 lbs - $2000
3rd - Thomas Roedell - Mooreland, OK - 8.28 lbs - $1000
4th - Roger Stroman - Emory - 7.96 lbs - $400
5th - Johnny Brown - Lindale - 7.88 lbs - $300
6th - Rodney Brantley - Sulphur Springs - 7.57 lbs - $200
7th - James Nugent - Weatherford - 6.92 lbs - $100

Youth - Austin Alleman - Flower Mound - 5.49 lbs - $250
Female - Priscilla Harmon - Lindale - 6.73 lbs - $250
Senior - Joe Marler - Boyce, LA - 6.15 lbs - $250

The above amounts are in addition to the anglers' hourly winnings.