Terry Tucker wins Ultimate Match Fishing on Chickamauga Lake
Terry Tucker of Gadsden, Alabama won the inaugural Pelicanʼs Ultimate Match Fishing Invitational fishing tournament on Chickamauga Lake. The event took place May 27 and 28 on Lake Chickamauga with anglers fishing out of Dayton, Tennessee.
The field, consisting of the top BFL anglers in the nation, competed in a standard tournament format on day one with the two top finishers competing head-to-head on day two under Ultimate Match Fishing rules for the top prize of $20,000 dollars and a chance to fish against the top FLW and BASS Elite Series pro anglers on Pelicanʼs Ultimate Match Fishing on Outdoor Channel in 2018.
Jimmy Washam of Covington, Tennessee took first place on day one with a 5-bass limit of 21.61 pounds. Tucker finished day one in second place with 21.36 pounds.
The first and second place anglers, Washam and Tucker, met again on day two, competing head-to-head under UMF format rules. For four grueling 90-minute quarters Washam and Tucker battled under the watchful eye of UMF Referee Mark Randolph with UMF hosts Fish Fishburne and Joe Thomas calling the play by play. In the end, Tucker overcame 2 full pounds of penalties to narrowly edge Jimmy Washam by just over a pound. The entire match will air later this year exclusively on Outdoor Channelʼs streaming site.
With the victory, Tucker pockets $20,000 dollars and a birth in Pelicanʼs Ultimate Match Fishing in 2018 to fish against the top professional bass anglers from both the FLW Tour and the BASS Elite Series to air exclusively on Outdoor Channel.
An obviously emotional Tucker, who has been through some physical challenges over the past several years told the crowd, “Win or lose, it just meant a lot to me to know that I could still do it. That even after what Iʼve been through, I could still compete against these young guys.”
See the full tournament results at www.ultimatematchfishing.com.