North Carolina Anglers Wins Tournament with Massive Crappie

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Quan and Newsome: A Winning Combination

Nate Quan North Carolina Crappie
Photo via Nate Quan

North Carolina’s Nate Quan has been fishing crappie tournaments for well over a decade. About two years ago, he teamed up with fellow angler Jordan Newsome and the duo have been fishing tournaments mainly across the Carolinas and occasionally into Virginia ever since,

Quan noted that the two anglers were introduced by a mutual acquaintance and have developed great chemistry on the water. “It was kind of a no-brainer to start fishing together,” he said. “We complement each other well.”

Quan explained that he and Newsome have learned to support the other, especially during challenging tournaments. “Sometimes it just feels like you can’t do anything right. It really helps when you have a partner on the boat who gives you confidence,” he said.

After many hours spent on the water, the pair of B&M Poles pro-staffers had arguably their best day of fishing ever in mid-March while fishing the Central Carolina Crappie Classic on North Carolina’s High Rock Lake.

Exceeding Expectation En Route to Victory

In an effort to “go big,” the duo had been fishing a new section of High Rock Lake. Quan stated that the lake is only about fifteen minutes from his home, so there are plenty of familiar spots where the anglers can fish to land some average-to-good crappie.

Prior to the first day of the tournament on March 18, Quan’s personal best crappie was 3.10 pounds – an impressive fish most anglers would gladly claim as their largest.

When Newsome landed a 3.27 pounders (eclipsing his own personal best of 2.8 pounds), Quan joked that he would never land one land big.

Within an hour, fishing near the same spot where Newsome had just landed his PB, Quan hooked up with a massive fish that would eclipse his own best by a hefty margin.

Quan’s fish weighed in at an absurd 4.14 pounds, surpassing his already-impressive best by over a pound! At this point, the anglers were also sitting on a daily total of nearly 7 1/2 pounds off of just two fish.

If Newsome’s catch took some of the pressure off the duo to perform, Quan’s basically secured the first day total, assuming the pair could land “five more average fish.”

Nate Quan and Jordan Newsome
Photo via Nate Quan

Quan and Newsome finished the first day of fishing with an impressive 17.02 pound bag. Their second day saw more modest result, producing a respectable 8.43 pounds.

The two-day total was enough to secure the duo a first-place prize of $1,600. Quan’s giant crappie also pulled a $480 “big fish” kicker.

A Pair of Crappie Finding a New Home

Over the weekend, Quan was able to keep both his and Newsome’s big crappie healthy in an aerated tank. The decision was made that the fish would be donated to the aqaurium at the Bass Pro Shops location in Concord, North Carolina, where the duo has presented fishing seminars in the past.

He noted that Bass Pro Shops normally won’t accept fish unless they come directly from the water, but the staff were impressed with the quality of care the crappie had received over the previous two days and made an exception.

Quan noted that the pair of fish have entered into a thirty-day quarantine period before joining the other fish to enjoy their “retirement” years. He also expressed gratitude for B&M Poles, Slider Jigs, Eye Hole Jigheads, and Super Clean for their continued support.

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