North Carolina’s Jamey Caldwell and Tommy Young finish with 33-1 over three days to win the inaugural
NPFL Military Classic on Douglas Lake.

The inaugural NPFL Military Classic wrapped up Friday on Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee, with
North Carolina anglers Jamey Caldwell and Tommy Young of Team 1 Minute Out taking home the
victory. Hosted by Jefferson County and the State of Tennessee, the three-day event brought military
members, veterans and their families together for competition, fellowship and time on the water, with
100 percent of entry fees paid back to the top-finishing teams.

The only team to weigh in a double-digit bag all three days, Caldwell and Young were the model of
consistency throughout the week. They weighed 10-9 on Day One, 11-6 on Day Two and 11-2 on the
final day for a three-day total of 33-1. They edged Sensor to Shooter by just 8 ounces after the runner-
up team closed with its best bag of the week, 11-14, to finish with 32-9. Sensor to Shooter also claimed
the event’s Big Fish honors with a 4-3 bass.

J N J steadily improved each day, going from 9-9 on Day One to 10-13 on Day Two before finishing with
11-7 for a three-day total of 31-13 and third place. Warrior Fishing finished fourth with 30-9, anchored
by an 11-12 opening-day bag, while Team Ammo rounded out the Top 5 with 30 pounds even after
improving each day with bags of 9-5, 10-1 and 10-10.

Team 1 Minute Out Cranks Out Victory

Coming into the event, Jamey Caldwell and Tommy Young had a plan. That plan included looking back
through the Rolodex and finding everything they could remember about Douglas Lake with the water at
winter pool. Living only five hours from Douglas, Caldwell made many trips to the lake while fishing
professionally at different levels. Back then, he remembered recording cover and structure with a
camcorder and tape recorder.

“Back then, I marked structure during the winter pool with a tape recorder,” he laughed. “I have some
history here, and all of that was in play this time of year. Tommy and I had two main areas we wanted to
check: one being Muddy Creek, one of the best creeks in the lake. The other was a stretch of the river
we’ve done well on before.”

Right away in practice, the duo located schools of bass positioned on offshore ledges in around 20 feet
of water. The only problem was figuring out how to make them bite. With the pressure TVA reservoirs
receive throughout the year, the bass were conditioned to being fished for. It was on to Plan B.
“We love cranking and knew that was going to be a good pattern this week, but that Muddy Creek area
was super pressured, despite the fish still being there,” Caldwell said. “We headed up the river and started looking around. It didn’t take long to find some schools on flats and points, a hair shallower
around 15 feet.”

On Day One, the team decided to focus its efforts shallow in the morning, fishing topwater and trying to
get a limit. With the crankbait bite better in the afternoon, having fish in the boat would take some of
the pressure off when it was time to move offshore.

“We got a small limit early, around 11 or so, and then went cranking,” added Young. “Once we got to
our area, we ended up culling everything pretty quickly. Really, that was the plan over the first two days.
On Day Two, we broke out a big squarebill, looking for bigger bites, and Jamey ended up catching one
that really helped us take the lead and put us in position for the final day.”

“I have a bait I love for catching big fish,” said Caldwell. “A Strike King 8.0, a huge squarebill, and I can
get it down deep. We caught our kicker on Day Two, giving us a boost. On the final day, we scrapped the
shallow bite and started on the offshore schools.”

When they arrived upriver on the final day, the schools were not there, and things started a little slower.
Caldwell knew better than to assume the worst, and the duo started graphing and idling around looking
for bass. Moving shallower, it didn’t take long to find them set up on adjacent ledges. It was time to get
to work.

“Once we figured out they were on the shallower ledges in the morning, it was game on,” said Young.
“Sitting in about 8 feet, we started catching fish and caught them pretty good. We averaged double
digits each day, and our under fish seemed to be a bit fatter than other teams. The quality was higher
and the pressure seemed less upriver on those secondary ledges, and it was just a great week of
fishing.”

Military Classic Comes to Fruition

The event had been the brainchild of the NPFL’s Brad Fuller for a while. When Caldwell and Fuller got to
talking, knowing what he did about the NPFL, it was an easy decision for Caldwell to jump at the
opportunity to be involved.

“I didn’t know Brad extremely well, but we had worked together a little in the past,” said Caldwell. “My
background in fishing and working in the industry like I do, it was an easy decision to get involved when
Brad called and asked me to help out. A lot of my friends fish the NPFL, and all I have heard for several
years was how great it was. I knew if the NPFL was behind the Military Event, it was going to be a home
run.”

Caldwell has fished professionally for a long time, at every level and with several different trails. While
he has yet to join the NPFL due to work and travel conflicts, it was only a matter of time before he saw
the “League” in action.

“Anglers tell me all the time, this trail is legit and it’s run like no other,” he said. “They do a killer job for
their anglers, and their dedication to doing what is right for the field really shows. I got to be a part of
this Military Event in a small way, but the NPFL crew really knocked this out of the park, and it was easy
to see why everyone is a huge fan. I am already looking forward to next year and making this event even
bigger.”

Final Leaderboard
1 Minute Out 33-1
Sensor to Shooter 32-9
J N J 31-13
Warrior Fishing 30-9
Team Ammo 30-0
SHADY J SLAYERS 28-15
Team Lookout 28-9
Drinnon / Coleman 27-11
WEST VIRGINIA FMO 27-9
Ardis / Bowman 27-8
The Hawgzilla Gorillaz 27-7
Ft Stewart Brothers 27-2
TK and Mike 26-6
Allman / Howard 26-5
Old Dawgs 25-14
Grumpy O'l Bassers 25-14
Hog Snatchers 25-13
Bass Cat one 25-10
Trash Panda 25-10
GorillaSquad 25-7
ARMY BASS ANGLERS 25-6
Hopkins / Matthews 25-2
Hoosier bait company 24-15
Jarrett/Underwood 24-10
Dave & Woody 24-2
Vyborny / Vyborny 24-1
Bass Ackwards 23-15
Bishop / Powell 23-14
Stines-Poggenpohl 23-12
BushWookie Fishing 23-10
Root / Jena 23-6
OneCast Fishing 23-5
Gabriel and Thomas Burns 22-14
O’Rourke/Brewer 22-13

Geaux Time 22-12
Travis & Mike 21-10
Lemley / Clark 21-1
ChrisCurt VA Fishing 21-1
Quandt & Woods 20-9
Barnett / Torres 20-9
Schnupp / Falin 20-0
Schneider / Payne 20-0
Semper Gumby 19-15
Special Operations Bass Anglers Team 2 19-15
Schmidt / Landt 19-10
Out of Office 19-7
S.C Bassassins 19-1
B&K 18-12
Proctor 18-12
Bro Get The Net 18-8
Bass Bandits 18-6
48th IBCT 17-11
908 AMXS 16-15
Essayon Pirates 16-11
Jumpmaster 16-9
Fierce / Christoper 16-8
Commons / Phillips 15-13
Special Operations Bass Angler 1 15-13
Fuhgahwe 15-10
J&D 15-10
W.A. New Steel 15-4
Jolly Green 15-3
Weekend Warriors 15-1
Team CenTex 14-12
NAVY Tail Chasers 14-9
Cory 14-3
TNT Fishing 14-3
Bible/Mitchell 13-14
PERKINS / Cherry 13-6
Bradley / Canale 13-3
Appalachian Hog Snatchers 13-1
Capps / Hewitt 13-0
Big Stix 12-13
One Source Fishing 10-0
T&B Leone 8-15

Findley / Harmon 8-5
Bait Odyssey 7-14
Fishing With A Veteran 7-4
A&D Fishing 6-10
Team Gaines 4-15
Thomas / Thomas 2-13
Hull/Samples 1-12