7th Annual Lake Allatoona Moby In The Morning Bass Tournament

With seven years of the annual Moby-In-The-Morning Bass Tournament in the books, there are several things you can count on for this Lake Allatoona event: a huge field of anglers including the top locals, a weigh-in before the biggest crowd of spectators you’ll see at a tournament, and hefty sacks of bass for the top teams.

This year’s Moby tournament, held last Saturday, April 24, 1999, out of Allatoona Landing, attracted a record field of 236 teams, and the top team broke the 20-lb. mark with a limit of five bass. The winners, Clinton Elkins and Claude Sims, both of Dawsonville, anchored their limit with the Big Fish of the tournament, a 7.56-lb. largemouth. At about 7:30 a.m. the sow blew up and missed Clinton’s buzzbait, and Claude pitched a Zoom Super Fluke to the boil and caught the big bass. Clinton and Claude won a Triton 180SC bass boat powered by a 150 hp Yamaha.

Claude Sims, of Dawsonville, with the Big Fish of the tournament, a 7.56-lb. bass that helped Claude and Clinton Elkins win first place with a 5-bass limit weighing 20.20 pounds. Also pictured is Atlanta DJ “Moby.”

Finishing in second with a limit weighing 17.18 pounds was Tommy Davidson and Charles Matthews of Calhoun. Their sack was anchored by a 6.15-lb. largemouth. Tommy came up just short of winning the Moby Tournament’s first-place boat for the second year in a row. Last year, Tommy and a different partner actually had the best weight in the tournament, but because they lost count of their fish and accidentally had six fish in the livewell for a time before realizing the mistake, they were disqualified. Second place this year earned the team a check for $2,000.

The Moby Tournament is more than a bass-catching contest. After the weigh-in spectators saw live country music followed by a fireworks display. Proceeds from the tournament benefit United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Atlanta.

Tommy Davis, of Calhoun, with a 6.15-lb. bass that helped he and partner Kenneth Matthews place second.

Results 1999 Lake Allatoona Moby Tourney

Place, Anglers, Pounds

1. Clinton Elkins/Claude Sims 20.20

2. Tommy Davidson/Charles Matthews 17.18

3. Jim Crisler/J.C. Lee 14.80

4. Ted Burns/Michael Dickson 13.57

5. Scott Hamlin/Mark Holloway 12.23

6. Kerry Moon/Tommy Moon 11.52

7. Jackie Bagley/Kelly Bagley 11.50

8. Steven Foster/Danny Childers 11.17

9. Robert Castleberry/Tim Moore 11.12

10. George Fowlkes/Albert Rice 10.64

11. Brian Shook/Barry Forest 10.60

12. Tommy Petroski/David Smith 10.32

13. David Millsaps/Pansy Millsaps 10.20

14. Jimmy Millsaps/Jeanne Millsaps 9.88

15. David Seabolt/Jeff Seabolt 9.48

16. Tim Samples/Sam Samples 8.98

17. Tim Howell/Brandon Howell 8.96

18. Forest Boss/Darrell Everson 8.83

19. Keith Blalock/Tony Howell 8.79

20. Al Harrison/Russ Livesay 8.78

Claude Sims and Clinton Elkins (far right) get the keys from Moby to the first-place prize, a Triton 180SC with a 150 hp Yamaha. Also pictured (L-R): Joe Antonneau and Jack Malone of Yamaha, Mike Morris of Cartersville Marine, Neal Hart, VP of Triton, and tournament director Ted Gambrell of the Dugout.