Crappie Tournament At The Lake This Weekend To Benefit Shootout Charities

Go-fast isn't just for performance boaters. Anglers will skip between crappie beds, hoping to hook a winner in the first-ever fishing tournament to benefit the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout this weekend: the Angler’s Port Marine Crappie Tournament.

The tournament runs from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27. Registration will be from 5–8 p.m. on Friday at Captain Ron’s Bar & Grill, and will reopen Saturday morning at 6 a.m. There’s no starting location—that lets participants get to their honey holes more quickly—but anglers must be back at Captain Ron’s by 4 p.m. for the weigh-in.

Shootout Director Christy Janssen says they opted to hold the event at the end of October so that it wouldn’t compete with other major fishing tournaments that take place earlier in the fall season. The tournament, she explains, was birthed from a slew of connections: Shootout Guide Publisher Dave Leathers introduced her to Klaus Fink, owner of Angler’s Port Marine in Warsaw. Fink liked the idea of a tournament to raise funds for the Shootout, and got behind the event. Since then, Bryan Sowers, of Crappie Masters, has been helping coordinate the logistics, and will be volunteering his time to run the tournament. “He’s expecting a good turnout,” Janssen said, noting Sowers has been fielding plenty of calls and questions from anglers interested in the tournament.

The Shootout is the Lake of the Ozarks' unique boat race, pitting fast boats against the radar gun in a 3/4-mile top-speed test. The event began 30 years ago, and has long been geared toward helping support Lake of the Ozarks area (and some national) charities. As a result, the Shootout brand has come to mean much more than a fast boat: it's the single largest charitable fundraising event at the Lake. So the weekend race has grown to incorporate events before and after Shootout weekend to keep the giving going. In the past decade, Shootout events have raised more than $1 million for charity. The Angler's Port Marine Crappie Tournament is one of multiple new Shootout events for 2018, the first year the event has employed a devoted Director (Janssen).

Entry Fee & Prize

The entry fee is $150 per boat, and the tournament will pay out 80 percent of the total fees taken in. The remaining 20 percent will benefit Shootout charities. Additionally, a “Big Fish” optional pot costs $10 to enter, and the angler who lands the biggest crappie will take it all home.

For more information about the tournament call Brian at 660-351-2791.

Captain Ron’s is located at Lake Road 5-50, in Sunrise Beach, Mo. by land and at the 34.5 Mile Marker by water. Lodging is available, call Captain Ron’s Cabin Rentals at 573-371-5852.