Pro angler joins Selma Food Bank Bass Tournament

Saturday, April 20 was a beautiful day, but with recent rains the water level in the Alabama River was high and it was muddy, plus it was rather breezy and a bit chilly. 

But even with these less-than-ideal fishing conditions, 40 boats – that’s 39 teams usually with two anglers – fished in the Selma Area Food Bank Bass Tournament at Roland Cooper State Park Saturday. 

The tournament is a fundraiser for the Selma Area Food Bank and is hosted by father-and-son team of Jeff Harrison and his son Jebb. Jeff, the executive director of the food bank, said in spite of the weather and having to move the tournament to another weekend, this year’s tournament was a great success. 

The boats launched at first light and fished the Alabama River between Miller’s Ferry and Jones Bluff until the 3 p.m. weigh in. After all the boats came in and all the fish were weighed, the first through fourth place winners were declared:

First Place: Jackson Jones and Will Andrews of Selma with 16.53 pounds, $2,000.

Second Place: Landon Christian and Tyler Mann of Mobile with 15.21 pounds, $750.

Third Place: Mike Norwood with 14.9 pounds, $200.

Fourth Place: Shawn Jordan and Clayton Parker with 13.6 pounds, $100. 

Jeff Harrison said the money that benefits the food bank comes from a long list of sponsors, and the entry fee from the anglers is used for the prize money. First prize was $2,000, with the rest determined by the number of boats who entered.

Jebb Harrison is the tournament director, and he said he learns something every year that he uses to make the next year better. This year he said he wants a better way to account for all the boats so there is little chance of anyone being left on the water in trouble. 

The Selma Food Bank Bass Tournament is an amateur tournament, but it landed one professional angler – Keith Poche, who fishes on the Major League Fishing Tour’s new Bass Pro Tour. 

Poche joined MLF in 2014 and is doing well on the tour with 28 Top 20s, 11 Top 10s and one win for over $500,000 in career winnings. With his star on the pro tour rising, Poche said he likes to fish small, local tournaments like Selma Food Bank Tournament because it gets him back to his roots. 

Poche said that because of the muddy water, the fish were migrating to sloughs off the main river where the water was a bit clearer. By the end of the day, Poche said he only caught 11 pounds but had a great time spending the day on the Alabama River with his fishing partner, who happened to be his stepfather. 

Poche is a native of Natchitoches, La., but has been in Alabama for 17 years. He lives in Pike Road near Montgomery with his wife and two daughters.