Well they interviewed the winner of the tournament and he seen the boat and said the boat was in a bad spot whatever that means. Also said when he heard about the crash he said he assumed where it was. He didn’t say anything about fog.

Terrible accident. Prayers for all involved.

The tournament was canceled! What winner?

Channel 31 in Huntsville just reported on it . They had the whole story all backwards

I don’t keep up with tournaments. It was shortened by one day. I guess they just called the winners from that.$80,000 for first was what the news said he collected

$80,000.00 at stake will cause all kinds of ill advised behavior. I quit fishing tournaments because of the unwise or unethical things I saw people do to get that money. To be fair, the boat that was hit was out there because of money also.

I agree. I’m not holding judgment against either party.

I guess they kept fishing and had a weigh in after all this. I assume some boats didn't know what had happened.

They don't have a weigh in. Fished are weighed and released on the spot.

I think I seen the same interview with a guy trying to explain that the wreck was in kind of a bad (I assumed he meant dangerous) spot. he made out like the wreck was in between a sharp point and a small island, he never mentioned fog either, just said it was in a bad spot, I figure if the guide was fishing for stripers he was probably out in deeper water, and probably fishing on the edge of the channel that runs thru there, and then, here comes ol buddy flying around the bend, possibly glanced down looking down at his electronics, or maybe his phone even...(Hope not).... (there may have been a small patch of fog there idk, it was early still, around 7AM they said) and slammed into the guide boat.... Just a tragic accident all the way around....

That makes me want to think there would have also been a judge and possibly a cameraman in the boat also, with it being the 3rd day of the tourney, because they usually whittle it down to the top ten boats....Does anyone know if the tourney angler was alone? How old did they say the driver was? I never heard

I sure don't like being on the water, and will not be on the water, on during the times a bass tournament is blasting off. I wait until they all settle down before I venture out. Just a bad situation for all and I hate if for those left behind.

This tournament was a Tackle Warehouse Invitational, not the big league MLF guys. They do weigh in 5 fish in the invitationals. I think this was day 3, so they called the day 2 leader the winner.

A picture I saw of the guide boat looked like it was T-boned in the side. One news report I saw mentioned a video that had been turned over to ALEA, so someone must’ve been running a go pro.

Sad for all who lost someone yesterday. I've ran the Tennessee River from Ditto's to G dam many times in the morning in fog so thick I had to use my GPS to keep from running into the shoreline. But never at a speed where I couldn't avoid another boat. Or the idiot on a standup paddle board in the middle of the river.

I am there myself. I fished local derby's for years and many on Smith. It got to the point where there was no respect on the water and too much danger. I was explaining this to my wife last night. Back in the day we had shot gun starts and never had an accident because every one was willing to give a little room and be safe. 1st thing I was taught about boat operation was there is no brakes. Back then there was nothing but sonar or a flasher so nobody ran staring at a TV screen.
Also if I got to a slough I wanted to fish and there was a boat in there I went somewhere else. Then it got where boats would run in there on the other side, then cut you off to get to the back. Eventually boats would cut you off on the bank you were fishing. They would have got curb stomped back then for that. I have had several verbal altercations with some of these "Sticker Boats" and with "Guides" too. I try to stay away if I hear of these big tournaments but they are every weekend it seems. I have almost quit fishing due to the stupidity on the water. If I cant go during the week, I dont go. I dont have all the answers but there needs to be changes. The pics I saw on MLF website looked like there was some fog close to the water at takeoff. Terrible situation! God bless the families of the men who just wanted to go fishing yesterday and didnt come home.

So sad...
Three people were killed and several others injured in a boat crash during a fishing tournament on Smith Lake in Cullman County.

Coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick Wednesday afternoon confirmed three deaths.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency identified one victim as Joe M. Broom. He was 58 and lived in Altoona.

Kilpatrick said two other bodies were recovered from the water late afternoon.

ALEA identified the second and third victims as John K. Clark, 44, of Cullman, and Jeffrey C. Little, 62, of Mississippi.


All three victims were aboard a Center Console vessel that was struck by a Nitro Bass Boat, said ALEA Lt. Jeremy Burkett.

The bodies of Clark and Little, were recovered near the Miller Flats area of the lake.

They were all pronounced on the scene.

The crash happened shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday in the area of Burr’s Island outside the mouth Miller Bottoms, according to the Cullman County EMA.


Major League Fishing official Joe Opager confirmed in a statement that the crash happened during Day 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational.

He said angler Flint Davis, of Georgia, was among the injured.

“Out of respect for those involved, and to ensure the accuracy of all information, no further details will be released at this time,” Opager said. “MLF is working closely with law enforcement and emergency officials.”

“Additional updates will be provided as they are confirmed by the appropriate authorities,” he said. “Our thoughts, prayers and deepest concern are with everyone affected by this tragic incident.”

I have not been on big water bass fishing in over 20 years; small water is so much more enjoyable and less expensive.. And; the fishing is better.

What a tragedy. Prayers for the families involved. I don’t know if anyone on aldeer remembers this, but in the 80’s I was fishing a bass tournament on the Tensaw River. A couple of anglers were pre fishing the day before and driving at a high rate of speed right at daylight. Their boat hit a floating log and both anglers perished. The accident happened in lizard creek.

Terrible tragedy for all involved!

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that’s witnessed takeoffs before.

This happened on Smith a few years back in perfect weather.

No fish or amount of money is worth killing someone over.

https://youtu.be/4Ad6G_vVJrA?si=_Lqmd57hhWdI5-XR

While i agree about the dangers at takeoffs...this happened 5mi or so away from ramp. This was just a terrible accident (that yes, prolly could have been avoided). I've only fished a handful of tourneys, and was boat operator in only 2 of them...but they were 2 of the largest Anderson boats classics ever. Wanna see a crazy take off...find some old film of one of theirs when 700 boats are leaving from a single ramp. Still can't believe i survived past the T in either one of them.