Cannon slams the door at High Rock

Mark Cannon, 1st place, 2 fish - 8.53 lbs; Big Fish - 4.89

Duke "Woody" Ellis - 2nd place, 2 fish, 7.23 lbs

Gray Williams - 3rd place, 1 fish, 3.40 lbs

      Leesville BASSMasters finished out the 2019 season at High Rock Lake near Lexington, NC.  We launched out of the Route 8 ramp at Southmont, and the cold temps thinned out our field somewhat for our final derby.  A cold rain preceded our arrival on Friday, and much of High Rock had turned a nice Yadkin orange by Saturday.  We ended up moving our start and finish times back to allow the chill to come out of the air before hitting the water.  Air temp at blast off was 42 degrees, and only rose to 46 by weigh-in.  Water temps on the main lake ranged from 47 to 50, and a stiff wind kept High Rock sporty with white caps all day.
      All of our anglers brought fish to the scales, but sacks were somewhat light.  After all fish had been weighed, Mark Cannon sealed the 2019 championship with a 1st place finish with 2 fish weighing 8.53 lbs anchored by a 4.89 lbs chunk.  Coming in 2nd place was Duke "Woody" Ellis (2 fish, 7.23 lbs) and 3rd place went to Leesville rookie Gray Williams (1 fish, 3.40 lbs).  Gray joined the club mid-year and finished the season in 4th place overall, so Mark better watch his six next season because Gray's gonna be gunnin' for him.  With our final tournament completed, the Top 6 anglers have been set for the 2020 Money Tournament, which will be fished as a TnT during one of our regularly scheduled 2020 tournaments.
      The 2019 season was one of Leesville's best in recent memory, but we also shared some sorrow during the year. Sadly, we lost our good friend and member Jim Simons to Parkinson's Disease in early April, but we grew the Leesville family by several members and held our first club picnic with our families in October. We're looking forward to the 2020 season and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving holiday!