Story from CAT
The Crappie Anglers of Texas (CAT) recently held its 9th Annual “Crappiefest” on Lake Fork on March 26, 2022. A huge crowd of 304 Anglers participated in this outstanding event. The weather was amazing, and the fishing did not disappoint.
In the Adult Division, The “Big Crappie” Award went to Trey Phillips (Cushing, OK) with a Monster Crappie tipping the scales at 3.05 pounds. This enormous crappie netted Trey a 1st place check for $5,500, plus a bonus check of $7,500 for his 3.05 pound Black Crappie. Not a bad payout for one crappie!!! Top finishing CAT Member Alan Corzine took home $1,250 for being the top finishing CAT member & another $3,500 for his 2.8 pound crappie for 2nd Place. Here’s your Crappiefest 2022 top 20, and the amount they took home:
| Place | Weight | Name | Amount |
| 1 | 3.05 | Trey Phillips | $13,000.00 |
| 2 | 2.8 | Alan Corzine | $4,750.00 |
| 3 | 2.7 | Wesley Cox | $3,000.00 |
| 4 | 2.51 | Clyde Golden | $2,500.00 |
| 5 | 2.51 | Billy Westbrook | $2,000.00 |
| 6 | 2.51 | Jordan Sanders | $1,500.00 |
| 7 | 2.49 | Jerry Hancock | $1,000.00 |
| 8 | 2.46 | Josh Sherrill | $900.00 |
| 9 | 2.42 | Mike Boon | $850.00 |
| 10 | 2.41 | Richie Bruister | $800.00 |
| 11 | 2.39 | Mikie Bryson | $750.00 |
| 12 | 2.39 | Kayle Ward | $700.00 |
| 13 | 2.35 | Jason Holleman | $650.00 |
| 14 | 2.33 | Joe Nickle | $600.00 |
| 15 | 2.33 | Dillon Gossett | $550.00 |
| 16 | 2.33 | Jerry Graham | $500.00 |
| 17 | 2.32 | Eric Walker | $450.00 |
| 18 | 2.32 | Seth Mahaffey | $400.00 |
| 19 | 2.32 | Chris Foster | $300.00 |
| 20 | 2.3 | Kip Wright | $250.00 |
Our Junior Anglers are always a big hit in our tournament & once again, they did not disappoint!! Every Junior Angler that participated–fish or no fish weighed in–took home a trophy, a minnow bucket full of baits & a valuable gift card. A huge thank you to Northside Salvage & Scrap Metal for their generous donation to our Junior Angler Program!!
Here are all the Junior Angler results:
11-17 Age Group
| First Name | Weight |
| Cole | 2.41 |
| Carson | 2.07 |
| Brayden | 1.98 |
| Ivan | 1.74 |
| Caleb | 1.50 |
| Ayden | 1.49 |
| Brayden | 1.31 |
| Daniel | 1.03 |
| Tyler | .92 |
| Walker | .76 |
10 and Under Results
| Caden | 2.12 |
| Everett | 2.02 |
| Harper | 1.76 |
| Tayden | 1.72 |
| Lily Mae | 1.63 |
| Colton | 1.63 |
| Hunter | 1.20 |
As usual, the “Exact Weight” prizes were huge hits, and we had several anglers take home checks for weighing in a crappie that weighed exactly 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75 and 2.00.
| Exact Weight | Name | Sponsor | Amount |
| 1.00 | #1 Joel Phelps | Aflac Insurance | $500.00 |
| 1.00 | #2 Dave Armstrong | Freaky Franks | $250.00 |
| 1.25 | Jeremy West | Allied Employer Group | $500.00 |
| 1.50 | Ross Scott | First State bank | $500.00 |
| 1.75 | Joe Speckles | Greystone Insurance | $500.00 |
| 2.00 | #1 Clint Alexander | Insurica | $500.00 |
| 2.00 | #2 Trey Swinburne | Frost Bank | $250.00 |
And the Crappiefest “Golden Tickets” were also a big hit. Every angler that checked in at the weigh-in had a chance to win a “Golden Ticket” worth up to $1,000 each. Here are the winners:
| Golden Ticket | Paul O Bier | Star Industries | $1,000.00 |
| Golden Ticket | Chris Foster | The Bass Tank | $1,000.00 |
| Golden Ticket | Ronnie Wright | Norton /United Ag | $1,000.00 |
| Golden Ticket | William Youngblood | Yellow Frieght | $1,000.00 |
| Golden Ticket | Mickie Bryson | City of Emory | $1,000.00 |
| Golden Ticket | Brent Huewes | Spectra / Wastequip | $1,000.00 |
| Golden Ticket | Ivan Thomas | Constant Pursuit | $500.00 |
| Golden Ticket | Nicholas Nelson | Flywheel Brands | $250.00 |
| Golden Ticket | Joann Lablanc | Pops Jigs | $250.00 |
| Golden Ticket | need the name | Slab Syndicate | $250.00 |
New this year was our Celebrity Division which included the great Jim Jeffcoat, Kenny “the Shark” Gant, Byron Williams and Mike Moore!! They competed for prize packages donated by Lane Palmer & Constant Pursuit Outfitters, Richie James & Thumper’s Elite Outfitters & Fun N Sun Boats! Thank you to all of our celebrities for donating your time & fishing with us at 2022 Crappiefest!
In all, a total of over $40,000 was given away to anglers at Crappiefest 2022, and our charitable partner for this event, the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC), was the big winner with CAT making a total donation to the NOCC in excess of $9,000!!!.
