October 21st and 22nd ,2012 – The Rough River in Kentucky was the site of the USA BASSIN Couples Classic, the Co-Ed National Championship. Teams from four states converged to test the waters of the Rough River and the fishing proved to be a challenge for most of the 23 teams that entered the tournament. Lower than average water levels due to a dry Summer contributed to the tough fishing. “All in all it was a good tournament and all of the teams had a good time,” added Tournament Director John Newton.

Taking first place was the husband and wife team of Mark and Cindy King. Their two day weight of 25.58lbs outdistanced the next closest team by over 11 pounds. The first day they had less than five pounds, but Day 2 they brought a 20+lb limit to the scales. “We really just lucked into the fish that 2nd Day, we were rotating through two deep brush piles all day and the fish were just there. I caught a 4lb fish on my first cast and we ended up filling our limit with four more good fish,” added Mark King. They were using a Prower tube to catch their fish and had the tournament’s 1st and 2nd Place Big Fish. A total change of locations, strategies and a bit of good fortune led to the win. Mark added how much he likes this format, fishing with his wife “It’s great to get out on the water with each other and spend some time together, catching fish is a bonus.”

Finishing in 2nd Place was Steve and Tina Prunty who weighed in 14.09lbs over the two days. “The first day we culled about three times, and just fished hard all day. They really started biting at the end of the day and we left the fish biting as we went back into the weigh-in,” said Steve Prunty. They were excited to get back on the water for Day 2, but the fishing slowed considerably and they struggled to catch fish. They targeted drops in the river channel in water that was 16-20ft, focusing on brush piles that Steve had located. The best producing baits were jigs and spinnerbaits.

Third Place was the team of Jason Bowen and Nancy Robey who weighed in 12.16lbs over the two day tournament. Bowen remarked about the fishing during the event, “It wasn’t great; the bite was not very good. Saturday was much better than Sunday and I think it was because of the weather; Saturday was cloudy and Sunday was very sunny.” The duo focused on chunk rock that was in 12-15ft of water and relied on a tube and jig to catch their fish.

All of the top teams remarked about how much they like the Co-Ed format. Tournament Director John Newton echoed that and explained that “We have a lot of husband/wife teams, but also see some boyfriend/girlfriend, brother/sister teams and even an aunt/nephew participating in our tournaments.” If you are interested in fishing one of the existing divisions, or even starting your own, contact John Newton about getting involved.

By Tyler Brinks