SHEFFIELD-Brent Sain has at least 5001 reasons to like Pickwick Lake and Colbert County.
Sain, of Manchester, Tenn., caught 15 largemouth over three days that weighed a total of 49.05 pounds to win the National Bass Fishing Trail’s championship tournament. He won $5,000.
Donnie Story of Athens finished in second place with 47.48 pounds. Mike Pharr Finished third with 43.73 pounds.
Pharr’s son, Chris Pharr, won the Junior Division with a three-day catch totaling 40.09 pounds.
The tournament, which was staged out of Riverfront Park in Sheffield June 15-17, attracted
Brent Sain
anglers from throughout the Southeast and Midwest.
Sain caught five bass weighing 17.55 pounds on the final day of the tournament to clinch the victory. He also won the 2010 National Bass Fishing Trail championship that was held on Chickamauga Lake.
“I love fishing the Tennessee River lakes,” Sain said. “I fish Nickajack, Guntersville, Chickamauga and Kentucky lakes a lot.”
Prior to the championship tournament, it had been 12 years since Sain had fished on Pickwick Lake. Sain said the number of big largemouth bass living in Pickwick Lake has improved greatly since the last time he visited the reservoir. Sain found numerous big bass living in deep water around the Waterloo area and spent most of his time fishing in those areas.
Donnie Story
In addition to the money he won, Sain has another reason to enjoy fishing in Pickwick Lake and visiting Colbert County.
“The people here are just fantastic,” he said. “The hotel, the restaurants, gas stations, tackle shops, everywhere we went, everyone rolled out the welcome mat and let us know how much they appreciated having us in town.”
Susann Hamlin, president and CEO of Colbert County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said the tournament provided a boost to the local economy. She said the anglers spent a week in Colbert County while practicing for and competing in the tournament. Many brought their families and while the anglers were fishing the spouses and children were visiting local attractions and stores.
Colbert County Tourism was a sponsor of the tournament.
