The Crappie Masters National Championship was held on the Ouachita River out of Forsythe Park recently and the big event with 100 teams from around the country kicked off with a media and celebrity fishing tournament the day before competition. It was a one-fish tournament with the biggest crappie taking the prize.
The winner? Courtney Hammons, the reigning Miss Louisiana. She fished with pro crappie fishermen Mark McClure and Frank Haidusek to catch a 2.11 pound slab on the river. It was misting rain and 50 degrees, but it didn’t detour Miss Louisiana or several other are dignitaries, like Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis and West Monroe Mayor Stacy Mitchell, from chasing crappie.
