Fishing News 19 Apr 2015

Anglers Raise $8,500 for Officer Pearson!

Results: Officer Pearson Benefit Tournament

Russ Franklin and David Westmoreland take top honors over 69 teams today with 16.84lbs as well as Big Bass honors with a 6.84 largemouth. Adam Fall and Eric Snow finish 2nd by a slim margin with 16.71 and Gary and Denver Martin finish 3rd with 14.18lbs.

http://respoolin.com/omtt/results/2015/OfficerPearsonBenefit

News Leader Article:

Wes Johnson, News-Leader 5:27 p.m. CDT April 25, 2015

A fishing tournament last weekend at Table Rock Lake yielded more than some lunker bass.

Anglers fishing for a cause eventually contributed $8,500 in cash to help Springfield Police officer Aaron Pearson recover from a gunshot wound to the head.

"This whole area of the Ozarks, when something like this happens, people come together to help," said Tom Blakemore, who helped organize the benefit tournament with Sutton Berry of Don Berry Pro Fishing LLC.

Berry said the tournament drew 140 anglers in 70 boats. But along with cash raised directly to help Pearson, Sutton said some of the anglers who finished in the money donated half of their winnings as well.

The top tournament team of David Westmoreland and Russ Franklin donated all of their winnings, Sutton said. The team earned $1,845 for catching 16.84 pounds of bass, including a 6.84-pounder, the biggest of the tournament.

"The comments I heard from everybody were that they were happy about supporting this event and contributing to officer Pearson," Berry said. "It was an awesome experience."

Pearson was shot in the head and suffered a career-ending injury in January while responding to a late-night suspicious activity call near Chestnut Expressway and Glenstone Avenue.

Joshua Lee Hagood, 32, has been charged with first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm. Police say Hagood was found hiding on the floor of a car in a nearby lot seven hours after the shooting.

http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2015/04/25/fishing-tourney-nets-officer-pearson/26379259/