You won't hear about the one that got away from anglers Mike Winkler and Archie Clark. They reeled in the biggest fish at the 2015 "Last Bass" Tournament, held Nov. 8 at Lake Eufaula.
Event sponsor Lawter & Associates, PLLC, announced Winkler of Lexington and Clark of Noble were the 1st-place winners in the tournament. Their prize weighed 11.94 pounds, which netted them $10,285. Second-place went to Dale Johnston of Wichita, Kan., and Dave Radebaugh of Grove, OK. The caught an 11.82-pounder and received $5,610. Third-place and $2,805 went to Dan Mahaffey and Kip Morrow, both of Tulsa. Their catch was a 10.81-pound bass.
Winners for 4th through 35th place received payouts of $1,000 for each team.
According to Lawter & Associates, the winner of "Big Bass Overall" was the team of Johnston and Radebaugh, who received a payout of $7,800 for their 6.27-pounder.
The total payout, including $4,000 added by Lawter & Associates, totaled $62,500.
Jeff Saxton, general manager of Lawter & Associates, PLLC, said the firm was happy to present the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife with a new Lowrance Fishfinder/Chartplotter as a thank you gift. The device will assist them in maintaining Oklahoma's fishing habitat.
To see the full results, visit www.lawterlaw.com/events.
The annual two-person team tournament, which is open to the public, pays back 100 percent of the registration fees with Lawter & Associates.
Saxton said the tournament continues to be a popular event for the community. This year, 390 boats participated, up from 374 boats last year.
"Whether they won a prize or not, I know everyone had a fun time out there this year," Saxton said. "We look forward to seeing past participants - and some new faces - angling for the big bass next year."