Newcomb, Bridges win BassingBob Missouri Invitational Pro-Am
Fishing and Golf Championship
Chris Bridges (middle left) and Andy
Newcomb (middle right) won the Bassing Bob Missouri Invitational Pro-Am Fishing
and Golf Championship at Lake of the Ozarks. Presenting the championship trophy
to the winners are Missouri Invitational co-founders Bob Renken (far left) and
Bassing Bob Bueltmann (far right).
Camdenton, Mo.—A change in the format of the BassingBob
Missouri Invitational Pro-Am Fishing and Golf Championship worked in the favor
of Andy Newcomb and Chris Bridges.
The Missouri Invitational sponsored by Duncan Fine Jewelry
and Ulrich Marine at Lake of the Ozarks Nov. 12-15 was originally slated for
fishing the first competition day followed by golf the second day and fishing
on the final day. However soggy grounds at the Old Kinderhook Golf Course led
to a schedule change with fishing the first two days and an option of fishing
or golf on the final day when the course was deemed playable.
After the first two days of fishing, Bass Fishing League
(BFL) and FLW Costa pro Andy Newcomb and his amateur partner Chris Bridges sat
in second place with 10 bass weighing 32.84 pounds.
Newcomb admitted he was
“not a good golfer” so it was an easy decision for Bridges and him to opt for
fishing over golf on the final competition day.
They made the smart choice as they weighed in a 12.20-pound limit for a
three-day total of 45.04 pounds to win the tournament and the top prize of
$25,000. Finishing only .03 of a pound
behind the winners was the team of Justin McClelland and Denise Dill with 45.01
pounds.
The first- and second-place teams shared a spot each day on
the Niangua arm of the lake. “We had a
spot that we started and spent a lot of time in each day,” Newcomb said. “We caught most of those fish there on a
Wiggle Wart (crankbait) and a Chatterbait.”
The winners keyed on channel banks where they caught most of
their fish 6 to 8 feet deep. “I had been on some fish flipping to shallow
targets over the weekend, but we checked out that the first day a lot and I
think we caught one so we scrapped that pretty quick and started fishing
channel banks. The first day we had five keepers on four different baits. Our
pattern was kind of junking it together.”
They finished Day One in 10th place with 13.25 pounds.
The second day Newcomb and Bridges mainly threw spinnerbaits
and Wiggle Warts to complete another limit. Newcomb disclosed they caught some
keepers from their primary area but most of their bigger fish came from another
spot.
On the final day, the 36-team field could choose either 18
holes of golf or fishing. Twenty-two teams headed to the lake while 14 teams
headed to the golf course. Newcomb and
Bridges struggled early and caught only one keeper on a crankbait. When they
ran into a stranded boater, they gave him a tow and then had only about an hour
left to fish. “We actually went to some
docks and caught some fish on jerkbaits (Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogues) to fill out
our limit.”
Old Kinderhook lodge and golf course and Lake of the Ozarks
fishing resource website Bassing Bob hosted the
fifth annual 2019 Missouri Invitational Pro-Am Fish and Golf Tournament
that provided amateur fishermen a chance to fish and golf with pro anglers.
Among the fishing luminaries competing in this year’s event were former
Bassmaster Classic and FLW Cup champ Dion Hibdon; FLW All-American champions,
Marcus Sykora, Jeremy Lawyer and Brian Maloney; Major League Fishing pros James
Watson and Mike McClelland; FLW Tour pros Casey Scanlon and Dan Morehead; and
last year’s Missouri Invitational champ Mark Tucker, an eight-time Bassmaster
Classic qualifier.
Pairings were determined by the amateur anglers bidding in
live and silent auctions for the pro anglers they wanted as a partner for the
three competition days. The 58-year-old
Chris Bridges was fishing in his fourth Missouri Invitational and reaped the
reward of bidding on Andy Newcomb for his partner. “I know a bunch of these guys,” said Bridges,
a transmission parts store owner from Independence, Mo. “I tournament fish a lot and this is like my
vacation. It is a laid-back atmosphere and I just enjoy the guys.
Bridges highly recommends the Missouri Invitational for
amateur anglers interested in competing in the event. “You get to fish with
some really good guys and it doesn’t really matter your experience level, you
can still learn something every time,” Bridges said.
For the full results of this year’s Missouri
Invitational, visit https://bassingbob.com/tournaments/report/2019/11/15/bassing-bob-missouri-invitational-pro-am-fishing-and-golf-championship-final/
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