By CHARLES SEARCY For The Tennessean There he was, Gov. Phil Bredesen, having his picture made with an all-girl team, and later, having more than 500 high school and middle school shooters watch him get through a round of trap. It was the opening of one of the fastest-growing sports for teenagers in the state. It was the state Scholastic Trap Shooting Championships at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex in Nashville. was quite a spectacle in Nashville, with 500 youngsters surrounding the governor as he shoots an exhibition round of said Steve Wagner, director of public relations for the National Shooting Sports Association.
Gov. Bredesen was signing autographs like a rock Bredesen broke 22-of-25 targets in his competition- opening round. are wonderful, young Bredesen said. a lot of what is great about Tennessee. always enjoyed the shooting sports.
Coming out here and taking part in this, being out here with families together, I just think a wonderful way for them to spend the weekend and a healthy thing for them to be doing, and glad to be a part of In between the opening and closing, Top Guns earned their third consecutive championship. time the facility is Coach Rockey Parks said, of the kids are there, Parks, whose son Ryan is a key part of the team, said his kids performed well. is the best group of kids ever he said. all super kids, good students and I enjoy working with every one of them. got 31 kids total in our Ryan Parks sparked the victory with a straight round, meaning he broke all 100 targets.
just tried my he said of his flawless performance. The Top Guns broke 475 of a possible 500. The team, which draws shooters from three counties Hamblen, Hawkins and Grainger includes Craig Livesay of Dandridge; Kevin Helton and Todd Lamb of Morristown and Spencer Lee of Russellville. In the rookie division, the Big Springs Big Shots finished in first place with a 359 total score. The team includes Trey Hill, Trent Inman, Justin Langley and Hannah Bruer, all of Murfreesboro, and Hunter McLlishof College Grove.
had two shooters (Inman and Hill) return from last championship team and they taught the other kids as much as the coaches said Big Springs Coach Kevin Lockmiller of Murfreesboro, who manages the team with assistant coach Randy Inman. Also walking away with state titles were teams from McKenzie, Henry County and Cumberland County in the senior experienced, junior experienced, senior novice, junior novice and rookie divisions. The top five teams in each division earned spots at the national championships, set for Aug. 9 at the Grand American World Trapshooting Championships in Vandalia, Ohio. very proud of Tennessee being the jewel of the Bredesen said.
get to be governor and you see a lot of problems in our state, and this is an example of some of things that are really right about Tennessee and about the young people in our Last year, Henry County High 4-H team captured bronze in the senior novice division. CYANMAGYELBLK TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 OUTDOORS THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2005 Weighing in Contact Charles Searcy with outdoors news and information at 8C SHOOTING CHARLESSEARCY CATCH OF THE WEEK NOTEBOOK FISHING REPORT FOOD EQUIPMENT State bass not expected to set record Fisheries biologist Todd St. John says Tennessee may never set a world record for largemouth bass, but that keep it from being a good fishery. possible, maybe not the Region II biologist for TWRA said this week. going to have to look at Florida, Texas or California because of the growing The state record, which is 14 pounds, 8 ounces, could fall, but St.
John said the pressure on the species continues to mount and not good. and the mortality rate make the odds against a record being he said. 15 years of electroshocking, turned up a lot of older fish. The oldest, I think, was 14 years old. I remember one from Old Hickory was 11 years old and measured 22.5 inches.
It was in the 10-pound weight class, but we weigh He said in those 15 years of shocking, have weighed two 10-pound I caught a 16-inch largemouth from Kentucky Lake two weeks ago that probably needed a new set of dentures. It had been caught so many times its bait-holding teeth were just about gone. With the pressure already mounting, BASS made the announcement last week of changes in its tournament schedule, showing an increase in events and money. BASS general manager Don Rucks also said the 2006 CITGO Bassmaster Classic will be held Feb. 24-26 on Lake Tohopekaliga near Kissimmee.
Classic is coming home next Rucks said, referring to the site of BASS headquarters in nearby Celebration, Fla. just makes sense for us to take advantage of our new location this time and bring bass biggest event to an area that offers some of the very best bass fishing in the The 11-tournament 2006 CITGO Bassmaster Tour season begins two weeks later with the on the in Del Rio, Texas, on Lake Amistad, March 9-12. The tour will stop on Kentucky Lake. FLW Outdoors also announced its 2006 Wal- Mart FLW Tour schedule. Competition kicks off Jan.
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Go to or email Go to Minnesota This all-new hiking guide 50 Hikes in Minnesota is just out from The Countryman Press. It covers distinct areas of terrain and habitat. Writers Gwen Ruff and Ben Woit and son look upon every trek not only as a recreational opportunity, but also as an educational one. Retails for $16.95. BOOK Barkley: Crappie fishing is good with minnows around brush down 14-18 feet.
Bass are good on Carolina rigs or combination. Lake is 81 degrees. Center Hill: Night action has been good for bass with most of the action coming on Carolina-rigged worms, crankbaits or spinner- baits. There are still a few crappie being caught on minnows near brush or other structure. Bluegill excellent on crickets.
Lake is 82 degrees. Cheatham: Crankbaits and Carolina-rigged lizards best for bass on the river. Worms or cut baits producing catfish below the dam. The lake is 73 degrees. Dale Hollow: Surface lures attracting small- mouth bass early in the day or right before dark.
Spinnerbaits or hair jigs both with pork trailers working at night. Walleye fishermen having fair luck with in-line spinners and nightcrawlers. Trout being caught trolling near the dam with down- riggers in 20-25 feet of water. Lake is 82 degrees. Kentucky: Largemouth remain good on Carolina rigs or combinations down 10-20 feet.
Crappie fair with minnows working best. Smallmouth bass best with tube-type baits. Bluegill are excellent in 2-5 feet of water. Lake is 81 degrees. Normandy: Largemouth bass fair on small crawfish colored crankbaits.
Smallmouth bass have been slow. Crappie are good, especially around brush using minnows. Old Hickory: Lots of smaller bass being caught with an occasional 5-pounder showing up. Crappie slow with some action 12-14 feet deep. No reports on rockfish around the steam plant water discharge canal.
Lake is 80 degrees. Percy Priest: Small- mouth bass have been fair on jigs and Carolina rigs. Crappie anglers are still catching fish in deeper water. Lake is 80 degrees. Tims Ford: Largemouth are sluggish during the day.
Most fish being taken on Rapala or spin- nerbaits. Smallmouth working better at night under a bright moon with spinnerbaits the top choice. Woods: A few crappie being caught on the main river channel using minnows or small tube-type grubs. Bass are slow during the day but some action on the lower end with trailer rigs working best at night. SEARCY Mark Irwin, left, of Spring Hill, caught this sailfish while fishing 15 miles off Fort Pierce, in the Gulf of Mexico.
The fish was caught on a squid and came during a birthday trip with his brother, Mike. Capt. George Denti, right, estimated the weight to be between 40-45 pounds. The fish was released. SPECIAL TO THE TENNESSEAN Fishers of Men: Steve Wakefield of Portland and Daniel Shivers of Carthage combined to catch a five-fish limit of bass last Saturday from Old Hickory Lake to win the Central Tennessee Division of the Fishers of Men tournament.
The two anglers used a Strike King Series 6 crankbait along creek channel drops to weigh in 16.63 pounds, including the biggest bass, a 5.45- pound largemouth. Second place went to Ben Pirkle and Mike King, both of Nashville, with a limit catch of 12.73, and the Hendersonville team of Doug Hardaway and George McCormick finished third with 12.20. The next tournament is July 30 on Lake Barkley. BFL: Boater Jason Sain of Beechgrove won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Music City Division event on Old Hickory Lake last Saturday with a catch of five bass weighing 17 pounds, 11 ounces he caught using a jig and a Carolina rig. Finishing second was Gary Clouse of LaVergne with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces, and David Barnett of Murfreesboro was third.
Bryan Montgomery of Lebanon and Jason Moss of Castalian Springs tied for Boater Division big-bass award honors. Both anglers caught a 7-pound bass worth $207.50. Billy Burgess of Hendersonville took top honors in the co- angler division with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces. The Music City Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on Old Hickory Lake near Gallatin.
CHARLES SEARCY Youths stay on target ANDY AFFLICK Gov. Phil Bredesen, an outstanding shooter, is surrounded by a team from McKenzie at the Scholastic Clay Target State Championships last weekend. From left: Elizabeth Russell, Lacey Lane, Rachael Clark, Laura Beth Fowler, Rachel Chandler, and Meredith McKinney are featured in this Field Stream magazine. 8C tate tournament also gets a boost from governor Associated Press CARSON, Calif. Marion Jones is just a bit player at the U.S.
track and field championships this week and a long shot to make the national team. The sport belongs to the young now. Jeremy Wariner, Justin Gatlin, Lauryn Williams and Allyson Felix are part of an emerging and as-yet untainted generation trying to lift track in the United States out of an ugly, drug-stained era. think amazing with the young people coming said Olympic 100-meter hurdle gold medalist Joanna Hayes, at 28 a relative old-timer. mean, had some young kids who are rolling USA Track and Field, the governing body, takes every opportunity to shine the spotlight on the newcomers, and the young athletes seem to love the role of cavalry riding to the rescue.
very great that they have painted that picture, because I believe what we said Williams, the Olympic silver medalist in the 100 meters last year. have to move on from the things that have happened. only so much dwelling we can Jones has faded into the background, a shadow of the effervescent, dominant champion who won an unprecedented five track medals at the 2000 Olympics. She is entered in the 100 and 200 meters at the nationals, which begin a four-day run today at the Home Depot Center, where the top three finishers in each event qualify for the world championships Aug. 6-14 in Helsinki, Finland.
Jones will not compete in the long jump, the only individual event she qualified for at the Athens Olympics. If her season up now is any indication, chances of making the U.S. team are slim. Her fastest 100 this year, 11.28 seconds, ranks 29th on the international list. Nine U.S.
women have run faster. She has not run a 200 this year. At last Olympic trials, Jones withdrew from the 200, citing exhaustion, after failing to qualify for Athens in the 100. This year, she has endured persistent suspicion of doping, even though she has vehemently denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs. Her boyfriend, Tim Montgomery, is entered in the 100 this week while he awaits a ruling on his appeal of a proposed lifetime ban from the sport for steroid use.
Eventually, the remarkable wave of young talent should overtake Jones as the big story in U.S. track and field. Former Olympian Michael Conley, head of the elite program for USA Track and Field, calls the current group of young sprinters perhaps the best in the history of the sport. Gatlin, the former Tennessee Vol who won the gold medal in the 100 at Athens, is eagerly awaiting a long career duel with Jamaican Asafa Powell, who last week broke world 100 record with a 9.77-second performance. Gatlin, though, beat Powell at the Prefontaine Classic on June 4 in Eugene, with a wind-aided 9.84.
annihilated everybody in that race when he set the world Gatlin said. can he do it with Justin Gatlin, Maurice Greene and Shawn Crawford in the same race? That been told Gatlin and Crawford, the Olympic 200 gold medalist, are coached by Trevor Graham, who mentored Jones in her prime. It was Graham who sent USADA the syringe filled with the designer steroid THG, setting off the biggest scandal in the United States. Some of former pupils have tested positive for steroids, but Gatlin defends his coach and himself. know what to say to and what to say Gatlin explained.
any allegations come up, I know it involve me because I want to go out there and run the best race I can Back on the track, the most imposing field is in the 400, where competition begins with preliminary rounds today. The field features five of the seven fastest in the event this year, led by Darold Williamson, training partner and former Baylor teammate. Williamson ran 44.27 in the semifinals of the NCAA championships two weeks ago. It was the fastest time in the world this year. He came back the next day to win the final in 44.51, the second-fastest.
44.53, on the Home Depot track in May, is the third-fastest this season. Seven U.S. runners have broken 45 seconds this year. Fading Jones a bit player as youngsters dominate Sprinters are stars at U.S. Championships AP Marion Jones dresses after finishing in fourth place in the 100-meters during a meet in Mexico earlier this month.
Shot put injures man at track CARSON, Calif. A man was struck in the head by a shot put yesterday during warmups for the U.S. Track and Field Championships. The man was rushed to a hospital, and his condition was not immediately known, according to Jill Geer, director of communications for USA Track and Field. It was not immediately clear whether the man was a meet official, Geer said.
An Associated Press photographer at the track said the man collapsed about 20 feet from the shot put ring. ASSOCIATED PRESS TRACK AND FIELD.
