John “Brad” Stalnaker won the 2024 American Bass Anglers Professional League, presented by Caymas Boats, Georgia Division 8 tournament, held March 9 on Lake Oconee.
Running out of Spring Creek Marina in Buckhead, the Eatonton-based angler caught five bass weighing 18.51 pounds. Stalnaker took home a check for $4,600 for his win.
“I fished from up the river down to the dam. I probably ran half a tank of gas out today, but that’s my style of fishing, I run and gun,” Stalnaker said. “I’m looking for a fish that wants to bite, not one that I have to make bite.”
Stalnaker said he used a variety of baits and techniques, too, catching fish by “flipping a jig, throwing a spinnerbait, swim-jigs, topwater, you name it. I fished grass, wood, docks, and seawalls. There wasn’t a specific pattern. Just put the trolling motor down and get it. These fish are moving up and ready to do their thing.”
He also gave credit to his father for instilling in him a love of fishing and the outdoors.
“I’m thankful that I had a daddy that took me fishing when I was young,” Stalnaker said. “It’s so important to take kids out and do things with them outdoors.”
Grant Kelly of Milledgeville landed a five-bass limit weighing 17.75 pounds to take second place and earned $2,500 for his catch.
Thomaston’s Martie Murphy took third with five bass weighing 17.67 pounds, including a 6.70-pound kicker largemouth. Murphy won $1,800 for his finish and an extra $700 for the big bass award.
“I was on the south end of the lake today,” Murphy explained. “I’ve never fished down there before but I couldn’t get any bites up the river and I wasn’t going to be hard-headed, so I ran down to the lower end. I went to the back of a creek that had a little stain and started throwing a chatter bait and I began catching some fish. My third fish was that big bass between a dock and the seawall.”
Finishing fourth was Jason Parker of Mansfield with a five-bass catch of 17.45 pounds, with Mike Cleveland of Jackson rounding out the top five with a five-bass limit weighing 17.34 pounds.