Big Bass Bonanza

Scherrey nets 2nd Bonanza

big bass
big bass

Steve Scherrey of Conway became the first two-time winner of the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza on Sunday, thanks to a 6.98-pound bass worth $50,000 that he caught Saturday in Post Lake near Tichnor.

Scherrey also won the tournament in 2000 when the first-place prize was $100,000. He's fished the tournament every year since, but he hadn't won another dime until Sunday.

"I never thought I'd win it again," said Scherrey, a retired manufacturing manager for International Paper Co. "After not cashing a check for 13 years, it made the second time around a little more special."

For prize money purposes, the Arkansas River was divided into five pools. Anglers who caught the biggest bass from the other four pools each won $10,000. William Fitzgerald of Greenbrier caught the biggest bass from the Dardanelle Pool (6.87 pounds), and David May of Little Rock won the Little Rock pool with a 6.85-pound bass. A 5.69-pounder caught by Karry Dedmon of Huntington won the Fort Smith pool, and Jason Hamilton of Star City caught a 5.63-pounder to win the Pine Bluff Pool.

Scherrey said he intends to split the money evenly with Jim Langley, his fishing partner for the past three years. Scherrey said Langley provided a big assist in landing the fish. It bit a chartreuse Booyah buzzbait with a chartreuse "clacker" blade and a chartreuse/white skirt on about the fifth cast of the morning.

"I had the drag set really tight, and I was using 20-pound line," Scherrey said. "He started taking line, and I told Jim that it was a really, really big fish."

Scherrey said the fish went under the boat and then around the boat, and then back under to the other side. Scherrey clambered around the deck trying to keep up with it. Langley netted the fish and hauled it aboard. Scherrey said he grasped the bass by the lip and hoisted it out of the net. The fish shook, and the hook fell out.

Scherry lost his grip, and the fish fell to the floor.

"Jimmy tackled it," Scherrey said. "He just jumped on top of it and bear-hugged it. I put him in the livewell, and everyone around was yelling, 'Yea! Way to go!' "

Believing the fish weighed about 6 pounds, Scherrey took it to an official weigh station.

"When that thing lit up 6.98, we were really surprised, and very excited," he said.

Scherrey said he'll use his part of the prize to refurbish his 1991 Bass Cat bass boat and to pay for his family's vacation. Winning this time is a bit different than when he won in 2000, he said, adding that he split that prize with his brother-in-law and longtime fishing partner Ron Peek.

"At that time we still had kids at home, so money was hard to come by," Scherrey said. "That was a life-changing experience."

Back then, Scherrey sad his mother-in-law took him aside for a little heart-to-heart.

"She said, 'Your wife has never had a new car,' so she told me that's what I ought to do with the money," he said. "I bought my wife a brand new Tahoe."

The Arkansas Hospitality Association sponsors the Big Bass Bonanza. Montine McNulty, executive director of the Arkansas Hospitality Association, said that 2,277 anglers entered this year's tournament, about 200 more than last year. Proceeds from their entries allowed the AHA to boost hourly payouts by $150.

Sports on 06/30/2014

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