Strader and Smith Win NoogaStrong

Over $25,000 raised for victim's families

Wesley Strader and Cary Smith teamed up to catch the winning stringer. Like most of the other contenders, they flipped matted or scattered grass with soft plastics that were heavily weighted to punch through. Photo by Colin Moore. Angler: Wesley Strader.

September 12, 2015 • Colin Moore • Archives

Even Lake Chickamauga seemed to be in a giving Saturday as it served up its late-summer best for anglers in the NoogaStrong Memorial Bass Tournament out of Dayton. Though fishing on the Tennessee River chain typically enters the doldrums in early September, the winning stringer of 21 pounds, 1 ounce brought in by Walmart FLW Tour pro Wesley Strader and his partner, Cary Smith, proved it’s not set in stone.

Likewise, the big lake produced a 21-pound stringer for brothers James and Jared Patmor – the runners-up – and a 9-pound, 4-ounce big-bass winner for local angler Wes Hardin. Thirty-five limits were taken to the scale and more than a half-ton of bass were weighed.

Starting with the $2,500 Strader and Smith won, the charity event paid 45 places. At the awards presentation, however, Strader and Smith announced they were donating their winnings back for the families of the victims. Every other team that won cash followed suit. With that, the money raised by the event exceeded the goal established by organizers. The proceeds will be donated to the families of those murdered at a Chattanooga-area recruiting center in July.

“We passed our goal of $25,000, and that doesn’t include other monies raised through raffle drawings and donations,” says Tournament Director Shane Frazier of the Chattanooga Bass Association. “We also had 269 boats registered with 258 actually fishing, which is a record for an open boat tournament on this lake. Everyone who worked to make this event successful, including the anglers who participated, can be proud of themselves.”

Strader, who also donated the proceeds from the sale of autographed replica fishing jerseys like the one he wears in FLW tournaments to the event, spent the day flipping Zoom Z-Hawgs weighted with 1-ounce Reins tungsten weights into heavy grass. He and Smith culled several times.

Hardin caught the lunker of the tournament early in the morning on a Z-Man ChatterBait. The Patmor brothers fished Stanley Ribbit frogs – black and red early in the day and black and green later when the midday sun was overhead. Brandon Roop and Brent Tharpe, who placed third, fished a variety of soft plastics, frogs and jigs.

Walmart FLW Tour pros acquitted themselves well in the tournament, which drew a large crowd of spectators from as far away as Knoxville. Behind Strader, Jason Lambert – who was fishing as a co-angler with local stick Greg Lamb – wound up in fourth while Alex Davis and Bill Potting were sixth, Ramie Colson, Jr., and Joe Wilson were 18^th and Forrest Wood Cup champion Brad Knight and his partner, Dusty White, were 21^st.

NoogaStrong Tournament Results

1	Wesley Strader	Cary Smith	5	21-1
2	James Patmor	Jared Patmor	5	21-0
3	Brandon Roop	Brent Tharpe	5	19-14
4	Greg Lamb	Jason Lambert	5	19-7
5	John Mantooth	Anthony Correll	5	19-5
6	Alex Dasvis	Bill Potting	5	18-13
7	Anthony Nash	Josh Tramel	5	18-10
8	Steve Everett	Eddie Calbaugh	4	18-5
9	Dustin Bailey	Ronny Davidson	5	18-2
10	Jack Dunaway	Randy Harris	5	17-13
11	Jayme Copenhaver	Adam Dysart	5	17-9
12	Alex Key	Wayne Key	5	17-6
13	Cole Sands	A.J. Barnes	5	17-0
14	Nathan Bell	Tom Swartout	5	16-6
15	Tom Helton	Matt Jenkins	5	16-2
16	Greg Moore	Chris Bullock	5	16-1
17	Chad Reel	Kevin Burnette	5	16-0
18	Ramie Colso	Joe Wilson	5	15-14
19	James Williams	Stan Dickert	5	15-9
20	Brian Hatfield	Amanda Vincent	5	15-3
21	Brad Knight	Dusty White	5	14-15
22	James Hutcheson	Kenneth Moore	5	14-13
23	David Perron	Bob Vicars	5	14-12
24	Justin Shoemate	Wayne Shoemate	5	14-4
25	Lucas Phillips	Gregg White	3	13-15
26	Will Bates	Ben Curry	5	13-11
27	William Marler	Jackie Smith	4	13-9
28	Stoney Johnson	David Craft	4	13-7
29	Greg Passmore	Kirk Wells	5	13-1
29	Chuck James	Jimmey Rose	5	13-1
31	Tim Delk	John Delk	5	12-14
32	Steven McMillan	Erine Gravett	5	12-12
33	Derrick Clark	Lynn King	4	12-9
34	Larry Erwin	Tyler Bain	5	12-6
35	Brian Spangler	Tracey Penney	5	11-12
36	Jenny Nevans	Shawn Strader	4	11-10
37	Mark Shrun	Sam Morgan	5	11-9
38	Wes Hardin	Jason Cook	2	11-8
39	Steve Barnes	Billy Venedetti	5	11-4
40	Andy Parkinson	Mitch Oliver	4	11-3
40	Casey Hitchcock	David Olinger	4	11-3
42	Gary Runyon	Keith Runyon	4	11-1
43	Sam Lemons	Steve Duncan	5	10-15
43	Glenn Day	Chris Highland	4	10-15
45	Gary Smith	Allen Tadlock	4	10-13
46	Robby Crosslin	Greg Worsham	4	10-10
47	Marvin Ervin	William Ervin	4	10-8
48	Matthew Pyatt	Chris Carden	4	10-7
49	Keith King	Randy Preston	4	10-4
50	Andrew Hicks	Mark Jenkins	5	10-3
51	Chuck Lowe	Mickie huehes	4	10-1
52	Austin Meeks	Austin Wyatt	3	9-14
53	Allen Varner	James Ray	4	9-8
54	Greg Shaver	Larry Brooks	3	9-5
55	Chase Hicks	Kacie Hicks	3	9-3
56	Howie Burger	Sexton Long	2	9-1
57	Matt Gowan	Mark Beeler	3	8-15
58	Troy Redwine	Kolby Redwine	2	8-13
58	Tavin Napier	Kyler Hagler	4	8-13
60	Mark Morgan	Drew Massingill	3	8-10
61	Will VanEtten	Chris Shouse	3	8-8
62	Glen Uren	DeWayne Ensley	4	8-7
62	Trevor Phipps	Chris Dodson	4	8-7
64	J.B. McMillon	BoBo Richardson	5	8-6
64	Josh Norris	Billy Norris	3	8-6
66	Jim Thompson	Jim Thompson Jr	4	8-2
67	Quintin kale	Chuck costic	3	8-0
68	Michael Watkins	Chris Bowen	4	7-14
69	David Moore	Mack Hall	2	7-12
70	Anthony Vintson	Katie Vintson	4	7-11
71	Robert Smith	Michael Hatton	4	7-5
72	Ben Biller	Dustin Vaughn	3	7-2
73	Tyler Price	Hunter Cox	2	6-13
74	Kenneth Bradshaw	Rick Camp	3	6-10
75	Rob Leavitt	Eric Stanbery	2	6-7
76	Bryan Ainslie	Gavin Ainslie	3	6-2
77	Jesse Burnett	Lin Burnett	2	5-12
77	Brandon Harris	Joe Scealf	2	5-12
79	David Stokes	Josh Revis	2	5-11
80	Greg Morrow	John Morrow	2	5-10
80	Daniel Helton	Matt Shelton	2	5-10
82	Steven London	Tom Perry	1	5-9
83	Rick Worley	Tyler Worley	2	5-7
84	Ben Graves	Robert Gibson	2	5-6
85	J im Kester	Jim Keister jr	2	5-2
85	Brandon Bryant	Sam Carris	2	5-2
87	Gabe Keen	Trevor St. John	2	5-1
87	David Baskette	Scott White	2	5-1
89	Carl Knight	Carl Knight	2	4-15
89	Nathan Beard	Brian Oxendine	3	4-15
91	Travis Shrader	Steven Lowery	2	4-9
92	John Boyd	Jerry Cornwell	2	4-8
93	Kayla Tipton	Kasey Hunley	2	4-4
94	Travis Lawson	Travis Lawson	1	4-2
95	Brien Bates	Hank Weathers	2	4-1
95	Jordan Young	Kevin Foy	2	4-1
97	Lane Holsonback	Tyler Chumley	2	3-13
98	Brandon Moore	Matt Clay	1	3-8
99	Jeff Walker	Caleb Luzader	1	3-1
99	Jordan Bolton	Harley Owens	1	3-1
99	Brandon Gaylor	Rodney Gaylor	1	3-1
102	Chris Engelage	Soldier	1	2-11
103	Ricky Miller	James Rogers	1	2-9
103	Joseph Sanders	Johnathan Peck	1	2-9
105	Bobby Kilgore	Marty Barnes	1	2-7
106	Michael Lamb	Eric Morrison	1	2-0
107	Ronnie Richie	Hunter Richie	1	1-3