Cheatham County Exchange
ASHLAND CITY WEATHER

Larry Woody: Pro angler Mallicoat encounters locked-jawed bass




Joey Mallicoat (left) and his dad Ralph after a good day on the lake. Submitted

Anglers are familiar with the smallmouth bass and the largemouth bass, and last year veteran tournament fisherman Joey Mallicoat discovered a new species: The lock-jawed bass.

They wouldn’t open wide and say “ah!”

“I didn’t have a very good year,” says Mallicoat, 31, of Lebanon, who began fishing with his dad Ralph as soon as he could hoist a fishing pole. By his teens he had branched out into regional tournament fishing, and did well – until last year.

“I fished 10 tournaments in the Toyota Series and finished in the money in just two,” Mallicoat said. “It was a weird year.”

In his defense, Joey also fished some lesser local tournaments and was fairly successful, winning the final one of the season on Old Hickory Lake. But the competition got tougher the higher up he went.

“Those guys always catch fish,” he said of the anglers who hail from across the Southeast and as far away as Texas to compete on such lakes as Chickamauga, Guntersville and Dale Hollow.

“They out-fished me. It was a humbling experience.”

Mallicoat, a graduate of Friendship Christian and Tennessee Tech, where he was a member of the Golden Eagles famous fishing team, is employed by Border States Electric.

He, along with several other Wilson County anglers including Daniel Johnson, Mickey Beck and Drew Boggs, have been on the tourney trail for several years.

“I’ve enjoyed fishing from as far back as I can remember,” Mallicoat says. “I’ve always been competitive, and I like the challenge of tournament fishing. I especially enjoy it when my dad and I fish together. He’s kinda old-school, while I like to try more modern stuff. When we get together we make a pretty good team.”

Mallicoat is not discouraged by last year’s off-season and is anxious to get started again.

“It’s a new year and I’m ready to go,” he says. “I feel like I’ve got some catching up to do.”

TNT coming up: The area’s longest-running fishing tourney, the Thursday Night Tournament, is preparing for its 20th season.

Tournament members last year purchased and installed lights at the Long Hunter boat ramp and parking lot for use by the public as well as for TNT’s midnight weigh-ins.

Payouts are based on the number of entries in each tournament.

For information about memberships or tournament schedules, call Andy Jennette at (615) 972-0735.