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2016 Muzzy Classic

By Brodie SwisherApril 25, 2016

The 2016 Muzzy Classic is a wrap. One of the longest running bowfishing tournament events, the 17th annual Muzzy Classic once again brought some of the top teams from across the country to compete on Lake Guntersville in Alabama. Here’s an inside look at the 2016 Muzzy Classic…

boat check in at guntersville

Boats begin to roll in for registration at the 2016 Muzzy Classic in Guntersville, AL.

There were sixty-six boats from across the country that checked in Saturday afternoon for this year’s event. They came pulling boats of all kinds. Big, small, old, and new. But no matter the boat, and regardless of where the teams are from, they all share a unique passion for shooting big fish with a bow.

muzzy boat check in

All boats had to check in with Muzzy staff and volunteers to complete a safety checklist prior to the tournament.

muzzy team takeoff

After a 5:45pm mandatory team meeting, the teams were dismissed to hit the water.

Despite the beautiful weather, the fishing proved to be fairly tough. Hopes of spawning fish and record numbers at the weigh-in didn’t happen. But that didn’t dampen the excitement early Sunday morning as the boats began to roll back in to the scales.

shooter with fish on deck

Weigh-ins are always an exciting time as teams wait and wonder where they’ll stack up on the leader board.

Weary and worn from a long night on the lake, the teams pulled their best 20 fish from the barrels to be weighed by Muzzy staff at the scales. Mark Land, of Muzzy, heads up the operation. Mark tag-teams with Chris James, also of Muzzy. The two make quite a team as they move boat after boat through the line at weigh-in.

fish on scales at 2016 muzzy classic

Mark Land, of Muzzy, weighs fish at the scales during the 2016 Muzzy Classic.

The biggest fish of each species (Grass Carp, Common Carp, Buffalo Carp, and Gar) were set aside. Prizes were later awarded for the team or individual shooting the biggest fish of the tournament.

big fish with tag

The biggest fish of each species was tagged and set aside. The “Big Fish” title always has teams battling it out for the biggest fish in the lake.

One of the last teams to pull up to the scales was Team Thrills & Kills Outdoors, winners of the 2015 Muzzy Classic. The team made up of Tommy Woods, Hunter Woods, and Scott Baxter once again pulled the big fish from the barrels at the scales. For a moment, it looked as if they just might hold on to their title for another year. But when the numbers were finally tallied, 30+ pounds of fish separated them from the leader.

scott with big fish

Team Thrills & Kills Outdoors unloading some chunky fish at the 2016 Muzzy Classic.

The 2016 Muzzy Classic Champion title went to Team Giles & Grigsby with a total weight of 466.8 pounds. The haul won Matt Rigsby and Andrew Giles a check for $10,000.

gilesandrigsby1stplace

Long, sleepless night on the water? No problem. Especially when the reward is a $10,000 check to start off the day.

The team also scored on the biggest Common Carp of the tournament, earning them a new Fin-Finder Poseidon bow.

big common carp

This 34-pound Common Carp was the game changer for the 2016 Muzzy Classic, helping cut the distance between 1st and 2nd place.

Second place, and a check for $1000, went to Thrills & Kills Outdoors with a total weight of 436.9 pounds. The team also scored on the Biggest Buffalo of the tournament, with a chunky Buff weighing in at 45.5 pounds. Other teams show up to bowfishing tournaments knowing these guys are the team to beat. They consistently bring in the big fish tournament after tournament. This time, just one team bumped them from the top.

thrills and kills outdoors with big fish

This big Buff helped Team Thrills & Kills secure a 2nd place finish in the 2016 Muzzy Classic.

Third place in the Big 20 Format went to Team Instant Insanity, with a load of fish weighing in at 383.65 pounds. Team members, Robert Adams, Hadden Thomas, and Nathan Thomas earned a check for $700 for their third place finish in this year’s event. 

instantinsanity3rd

Chris James, of Muzzy, delivers the 3rd place check to Team Instant Insanity for their efforts at this year’s tournament.

The overall big fish of this year’s Muzzy Classic went to Team Mountain Men, with a Grass Carp weighing 52.8 pounds, earning them a cash prize of $1450.

mountainmenbigfish

These big guys make this fish look smaller than it really is. The 52-pound Grass Carp earned them the cash prize for Big Fish.

Be sure to check out the complete line of bowfishing products from Muzzy at www.muzzy.com.

 

Brodie Swisher
Brodie Swisher is a world champion game caller, outdoor writer, seminar speaker and Editor for Bowhunting.com. Brodie and his family live in the Kentucky Lake area of west Tennessee.
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