JOPLIN -Mountain Harbor Resort was the host site for the inaugural Hobie Bass Open Series Tournament of Champions this weekend with Jody Queen of West Virginia taking home the top prize of $20,000.
The Hobie BOS Tournament of Champions was the penultimate tournament in the inaugural kayak fishing tournament series sponsored by Hobie Kayaks. Fifty of the top anglers in the sport converged on Lake Ouachita for the two day tournament.
The majority of the field was set by way of winning either one of the six preliminary tournaments, or 11 satellite tournaments. The final three spots were filled Friday in a shootout tournament held on Lake Ouachita.
Mountain Harbor Resort hosted the tournament and awards banquet at their East Cove Facility. Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa owner Bill Barnes was on hand Sunday afternoon to welcome the anglers to Lake Ouachita and Mountain Harbor. He spoke briefly on the history of sports fishing and expressed that he believes kayak fishing could be the way to attract the next generation of anglers to the sport.
The BOS is a catch and release tournament with anglers measuring the length of their fish as they are caught. They then submit the result by way of an app to be verified. The fish are released after the photo is verified.
Conditions changed drastically from Saturday until Sunday, but it didn’t stop Jody Queen from turning in a stellar five stringer limit at the end of both days. Saturday he reported 10 fish with the five best measuring 85 inches. Sunday he turned in eight fish with the top five measuring 84 inches for a total score of 169.
Queen qualified for the Tournament of Champions in the Hobie BOS New River Satellite Event
Second place went to Matthew Scotch of Texas with a total score of 159.25 inches. He was presented with a $5,000 check and a new boat trailer by Tennessee Trailers. He turned in seven fish Saturday with the five best measuring 79.75 inches. Sunday he turned in six fish with the five best measuring 79.5 inches.
Third place went to Cody Milton of Bentonville, Arkansas with a total of 159.25 inches. He was presented with a $3,500 check.
Top 10
1st Place – $20,000 Jody Queen 169.00″
2nd Place – $5,000 Matthew M Scotch 159.25″
3rd Place – $3,500 Cody Milton 155.50″
4th Place – $2,500 Jaxton Orr 152.75″
5th Place – $2,000 Jordan Marshall 151.00″
6th Place – $1,800 Lowell Brannan 147.50″
7th Place – $1,600 Eric Thomason 145.25″
8th Place – $1,400 Kong Her 145.00″
9th Place – $1,200 Cole Sikes 144.50″
10th Place – $1,000 Richie McMichael 144.25″
