CELINA-For five years Stephen Headrick hosted a major fall fishing tournament here at Pleasant Grove Recreation Area known as the Dale Hollow Sportsman Citgo-Harris Oil tournament, but this year the event has a new name.

 

This fall’s competition will be called the “Hayes Open” in honor of Headrick’s longtime late friend and well-known fallen angler James “Cobby” Hayes, who passed away this past summer at the age of 70.

 

“Cobby was my best friend and fishing was his passion,” Headrick told the HORIZON Monday.  “I couldn’t think of any better way to honor him other than giving this tournament his name.

 

“The event always meant a lot to him and I credit him with helping to put the tournament on the map as one of the better ones held here on the lake each year.”

Headrick explained Hayes helped with the organization and weigh-ins at the tournament every year and he also offered his commendation to him for his help with his lure manufacturing company Punisher Lures.

 

“A lot of the success Punisher has seen wouldn’t have been if it wasn’t for the time, advice, and friendship Cobby gave me,” Headrick said.  “He meant a lot to me personally and business-wise, and he will be greatly missed.

 

“Hopefully is some small way having his name associated with this event will let him know how much he meant to us.”

 

The first Hayes Invitational will be held two weekends from now on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8 and the major sponsor will be Citgo-Willoughby, Inc.

 

It is being held a couple of weeks later this year and the event should blast-off during prime fishing as the water cools heading into the winter season.

 

“Fishing should be some better with the cooler temperatures and the stress of the weigh-ins on the fish should be reduced,” Headrick said.  “Besides that, we have always competed with other area events in October and we moved later in order to give all fishermen the chance to be able to fish all the tournaments.”

 

For more information about the upcoming Hayes Open, contact Headrick at 243-2636 or 243-6133.  Also, see a future edition of the HORIZON for more details about the event.

 

 

 

Youth hunt to

kick-off deer

gun seasons

CLAY COUNTY-The first of two young sportsmen deer hunts to be held here in the county this year opens this Saturday morning, and this season’s muzzleloader hunt will begin the weekend after that and run for two consecutive weeks (see related story).

 

They both will be the first times this year weapons other than archery devices will be allowed to be used hunting the elusive whitetail deer.

 

Only youths ages six to 16 years of age will be allowed to hunt with rifles at first light Saturday, October 31 through Sunday evening, November 1.

 

They must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult, 21 years of age or older, who must remain in a position to take immediate control of the hunting device and who must also comply with fluorescent orange regulations, as specified for legal hunters, according to a release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). The information also said multiple youths may be accompanied by a single qualifying adult, and explained youths 10 years of age or older must meet TWRA hunter education requirements.

 

The young sportsmen will be allowed to take two does (antlerless deer) and their buck harvest must follow the statewide antlered deer limit of three, with no more than one buck being taken per day.

 

The TWRA considers a doe (antlerless deer) as any deer with no antlers or antlers less than three inches in length and they consider a buck (antlered deer) as any deer with antlers at least three inches long.

 

The second youth hunt will close this season and will be held early next year from January 16-17.

 

Muzzleloader season changes

CLAY COUNTY-This year’s muzzleloader season to be held here in the county next month has been changed for the first time in many years.

 

In the past, there were two separate week-long segments, but now the season will be one continuous 14-day hunt starting Saturday, November 7 and coming to an end Sunday evening, November 20.

 

During that time hunters may harvest a total of four does and any buck up to their statewide limit of three.

 

For more information about deer hunting here in Clay County or anywhere in the state, visit the TWRA’s website at www.tnwildlife.org.

 

TWRA’s internet check-in station up and running

CLAY COUNTY-Hunters here in the county can now check-in their harvested deer at-home using the internet, the TWRA recently announced.

 

According to the agency, “often-times an evening hunt results in an animal being retrieved well after normal business hours and sometimes a hunter finds it difficult to locate an open check station.”  This was the motivation behind the TWRA offering the hunter the ability to check-in animals over the internet and they now have the system up and running.

 

The TWRA website said “hunters will be asked the same series of questions that are asked at regular big game check stations, and upon completing the questionnaire, hunters will then be required to print a permanent kill tag as well as their next temporary tag.”

 

To check-in a deer online hunters can visit www.twracheckin.com, or for more information about the new system visit www.tnwildlife.org.

•

If you have something you would like to see discussed in the Outdoor Notebook or have a picture of your trophy for publication, please contact Thomas Weaver at 243-4710 or email:  [email protected], or drop them by the HORIZON office on the square.  Pictures will be returned.