News
Bouldin is All-American Co-angler Champ
June 3, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
A Smithville man is an All-American Co-Angler Champion and the recipient of $50,000.
Matthew Bouldin claimed the All-American Title Saturday by winning the three day T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana. Bouldin had a final-day rally of 18 pounds, 4 ounces to snatch the win away from Jesse Parks of Avondale, Arizona., who led for the first two days, by a margin of only 4 ounces.
According to FLWFishing.com Bouldin caught limits each day while fishing with Pat Upthagrove, Nick Deering and Roger Fitzpatrick. He started Saturday’s championship round in third place, having weighed in qualifying-round limits of 16-9 and 9-11. But Saturday, Bouldin out-fished his pro partner to close a gap of more than 5 pounds and walk away a champion.
Bouldin said every day was a challenge. He relied heavily on a combination of shaky heads comprised of 1/8-, 3/16- and 5/16-ounce Buckeye Lures Spot Remover heads and either Zoom Trick Worms or Zoom Mag Finesse Worms, as well as two sizes of the River2Sea Whopper Plopper.
Bouldin fished the 1/8-ounce shaky head on spinning tackle, and the heavier heads on baitcasting tackle. He started out flipping the 5/16-ounce model, but midway through the tournament he realized the heft of the Mag Finesse Worm made it possible to flip and skip with the 3/16-ounce head.
That became his go-to “heavy” model for the final day. It was a big producer in the end because he could fish with baitcasting tackle more easily and efficiently in the wind or when his boater was covering water at a fast clip.
Bouldin, a minister is a student at Tennessee Tech where he is studying to become an accountant.
The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, advance to one of six regional tournaments where they compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American was held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament season will continue Saturday, June 9, for Music City Division anglers with a tournament on Center Hill Lake. Up to 400 boaters and co-anglers will be competing for top awards of up to $8,000 and $3,000 respectively in the one-day tournament.
Ribbon Cutting Held for New Story Book Trail at Edgar Evins State Park (VIEW VIDEOS HERE)
June 2, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Edgar Evins State Park celebrated National Trails Day on Saturday with a ribbon cutting marking the opening of a new kid friendly half mile Hillside Story Book Trail.
Miss Tennessee’s Outstanding Teen, Mary Humphrey of Jackson joined Ranger Ramble, the Tennessee State Park mascot, in cutting the ribbon on the new trail. Miss Humphrey, whose slogan is “Pages With a Purpose”, has been campaigning across the state promoting literacy.
The new trail combines a children’s nature story with the thrill of being in the great outdoors. Come see how one of nature’s miracles grows from a tiny egg to a flying jewel as each giant page is posted at intervals along the trail revealing more of the story, based on the book, Where Butterflies Grow, by Joanne Ryder with pictures by Lynne Cherry.
Guides on the tour help children with their level of reading. The purpose of the Story Book Trail is to stimulate young readers as well as to encourage them and caregivers to enjoy an outdoor experience together. The trail was built by volunteers and park staff as a project of the Friends of Edgar Evins State Park.
The project is endorsed by the Governor’s Books From Birth Foundation, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Ready to Read, Tennessee State Parks, and Friends of Tennessee State Parks Conservancy. Representatives were on hand Saturday to sign up children to receive free books monthly from the Imagination Library. Refreshments and party favors were also served along with crafts for youngsters to make and other activities for the children to enjoy.
“Spearheaded by the Friends of Edgar Evins State Park with help from park staff, this trail has finally taken shape after over a year of planning and working together. We wish to thank the park staff and many others also for the opportunity to complete and present this trail to the children and families visiting the park. Among these are the Cookeville Children’s Museum, the Public Library Systems for DeKalb, Putnam and Smith counties for their help with games and activities for this event as well as the Friends of Tennessee State Parks and the Tennessee Trails Association for grants of money to help defray costs. Thanks also to the many volunteers of all ages who jumped in to help construct the trail from scratch on the hillside, including members of Tennessee Trails Association, Smithville Brownie Girl Scout Troop 3094 under the leadership of Tanya Hale, and the young men of the former Smithville Boy Scout Troop 875 under the leadership of Cameron Beal, and others,” added Bertram.
The Friends of Edgar Evins State Park is an all-volunteer organization with the sole purpose of helping the park. For more information about contributing money or time please visit our website at www.foeesp.com or Facebook at Friends of EESP
Dedication Held for New Aviary at Edgar Evins State Park Built by Local Girl Scout (VIEW VIDEO HERE)
June 2, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
A local girl scout was recognized Saturday morning in conjunction with National Trails Day at Edgar Evins State Park for her efforts in building an aviary at the park’s interpretive center to house two birds of prey, an owl and a hawk.
Neely Evans, member of Girl Scout Troop 1146 in Smithville, made the aviary her Girl Scout Gold Award Project.
Fount Bertram, President of the Friends of Edgar Evins State Park presented a plaque of appreciation to Neely during a brief aviary dedication observance.
Evans decided on the aviary as her project after finding the park was in need of a home for birds of prey in the park’s educational facility. Along with the outdoor aviary, Neely also included a storage area for food and equipment. Rangers at the park will feed and care for the birds while park maintenance workers will provide upkeep for the facility.
“Edgar Evins State Park has a special place in my heart. I have been a member of the Edgar Evins State Park Friends group for over five years and spent hundreds of volunteer hours in the park. It is my home away from home. Building this aviary for them to bring a new program to the park was very important to me,” said Neely.
“I think my favorite part of the project was seeing it finally done. It’s one thing to see it on paper but when it’s in front of you it’s a good feeling. The challenging part was learning how to use the tools to build the cage. I had to learn to use the tools I’ve never used before,” Neely said.
“I feel proud to know I helped the State Park that feels like family to me. I can go there and see what I have accomplished,” added Neely.
“We are proud of Neely and what she has achieved! Come admire this outstanding aviary and enjoy the birds,” said Bertram.
The Gold Award is the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA, earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts.
Park Ranger Halfacre explained that “McKenzie”, the barred owl shown in the photo and video above, is blind in both eyes from a train accident. She is believed to be between 12 and 15 years old. Barred owls have an average lifespan in the wild of 10 to 15 years. McKenzie weighs about 1.8 pounds.
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