Weston WV – What an ending to the 2022 season for The Great Outdoors Marine Open Tournament Series. A close out of their first season and a check worth $5,000 to the winners.
Dave Ferguson and Doug Stamper of Wayne, West Virginia were able to capitalize on a deep bite on Stonewall Jackson Lake to pull off the win in Sunday’s Championship. They had a winning weight of 14.73 that was anchored by a 5.45 big fish.
“We kind of let everyone else get in our head about the shallow bite,” Ferguson said. “So, for the first three hours, we went shallow and never got a bite.”
“At 11:00 we didn’t have a fish and we felt like our chances of winning were slipping away,” Stamper said.
The duo decided to go back to their old ways and chase after the deep bite they are known for. Any time there is a deep bite going on in West Virginia these two are always going to be a threat to win. That proved to be the correct move for them as they proceeded to catch over 14 pounds by 3:15.
“We caught seven fish all day,” Ferguson said. “Just five of them were keepers that helped us.”
The duo just barely stole the win from second-place finishers Chris White and Rebecca White who weighed in 14.29 anchored by a 5.09 big fish. The second-place finish was worth $2,000.
Rounding out the Top 3 was the young gun team of Jared Whitt and Derek Lawson who weighed in a 5 fish limit of 12.04. The third-place finish was worth $1,000.
Finally, weighing in Big Bass of the tournament was the team of Thy Dinh and Andy Schafer who reeled in a 6.37 giant. That fish alone was worth $500.
Very seriously doubt there will ever be a tournament that pays out $8,500 in total purse for 16 boats ever again. A one-of-a-kind tournament and a huge first year for The Great Outdoors Marine Open Tournament Series. To keep up with Ferguson’s Great Outdoors Marine tournament series and business you can follow along on their Facebook here!
Full results are attached below:
