5th Annual Big Crappie Bash
By Greg McCain
The fifth annual ACC Crappie Stix/Crappie Cove Big Crappie Bash returns to Watts Bar Lake this week.
Staged out of Terrace View Marina (3367 Euchee Chapel Road, Spring City TN 37381) for the fourth straight year, the Big Crappie Bash offers a $5,000 grand prize for the overall biggest crappie and $1,500 for each hourly winner. Froggs Toggs, the Alabama-based apparel and outdoor accessory company, returns as the main sponsor for the overall big fish of the tournament.
In addition to ACC Crappie Stix, Crappie Cove, and Frogg Toggs, other major sponsors include Thump Gel, Bayou Classic Fryers, ATX Lures, and 303 Marine Products.
“Registration has gone well,” said tournament director and local guide Matt Xenos (Wired for Crappie on social media platforms). “We continue to grow each year. It just keeps getting bigger and better.”
As of Monday, 81 boats had registered for the tournament. Final registration deadline is Wednesday at 5 p.m. Last year’s event, won by Jason Grimes and LaRue Isom with a 2.56 white crappie, drew 88 boats. To register, contact Matt at 865-640-1602.
“We should get a few more participants this week,” Matt said. “We had a goal of 100 boats for this year, but we’re really happy with the number that we have now.
“When we first came up with this event, we were drawing 15 to 25 boats for local crappie tournaments. I thought with something new and different, a unique format, that we could hopefully draw 40 or 50 boats. To get to over 80 boats has been unbelievable. It just keeps getting bigger.”
Regarding the fishing, a significant change has been made in the starting time. Competitors will get an extra 30 minutes of fishing time in the first “hour,” which runs from 7:30 until 9. In the past, teams had to wait an hour or more after takeoff before they could put lines in the water.
Other hourly segments (9-10, 11-12, etc.) remain the same with the final hour ending at 4 p.m.
Boat check takes place from 5:30 until 6:30 Saturday with blast off at 7:00.
Other changes this year include a fish fry featuring ACC Crappie Stix’s new fish breading at the pre-tournament meeting on Friday night. The dinner and meeting start at 6 p.m.
“We’ve had a good thing going for five years now,” Matt said. “You can always make something better, so we tweaked a few things. One of the things that the fishermen seemed to want was to start fishing a little earlier and not to have to sit around without the opportunity to fish. So we added the thirty minutes at the beginning to accommodate them.”
ACC Crappie Stix owner Andy Lehman said he did not really have a long-term vision for the tournament when Matt pitched the idea to him and to Crappie Cove owner Blake Hauk over five years ago. However, fishermen have responded to the format.
“We’ve tried to avoid the drama associated with tournament fishing,” Andy said. “That’s one of the reasons that I don’t sponsor any of the bigger tournament trails. We established our rules, stuck with them, and the fishermen seem happy with the product.”
The crappie fishing on Watts Bar will offer something for everyone with fish at all stages of the spawn. That was the case last year, when the tournament was held on the same date. Anglers will likely see a mix of both pre- and post-spawn fish.
“It’s shaping up to be another great tournament,” Andy said. “The fishermen seem to like the late April date. We had to deal with some poor weather conditions in the past. This year looks great.”