On Top of Their Game at Lake Gaston

My long-time friend and boat mechanic, Wayne Hayes (right), and his new Region 7 tournament partner, Al Napier (left), put on a clinic en route to capturing first place at this past Saturday's contest on Lake Gaston.

Their final tally for a six-fish limit was 22.45 pounds, which included Al's 5.76-pound big fish. In talking to Wayne afterward, I learned that they eclipsed the rest of the field with their deep-water expertise. According to Wayne, they spent a good part of the day with the boat resting in 25 feet of water, while he and Al plied the bottom with their jigs.

'Twould seem this duo, who both also fish the Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourney Series, may very well prove to be a force to be reckoned with for some time to come. I say that because of their collective knowledge base and the fact they, as Wayne allowed in our phone conversation, both prefer the same style of fishing.

Second place at Gaston went to (from left) Jared Allbritten and Chris Napier, a couple more anglers who are no strangers to the Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourney Series. They weighed in a sack of fish that tipped the scales at 19.09 pounds.

My heartiest congratulations go to all four of these anglers on a job extremely well done. Tight Lines!

Photos courtesy Region 7 website, http://www.varegion7.com/.