Canton native wins Oklahoma bass tournament

Lori Steineck, The Repository
·2 min read
Canton resident Drew Gregory won the 2022 Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series at Grand Lake in Oklahoma. Photo by Mark Cisneros/B.A.S.S.
Canton resident Drew Gregory won the 2022 Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series at Grand Lake in Oklahoma. Photo by Mark Cisneros/B.A.S.S.

A Canton native has won a national bass fishing tournament.

Drew Gregory won the 2022 Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series at Grand Lake powered by TourneyX with a five-bass fish limit of 91.5 inches, according to a news release from the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, or B.A.S.S.

He anchored his bag with a 20.25-inch bass, beating second-place angler Daniel Maffei by more than 8 inches and third-place angler Mark Pendergraf by more than 9 inches.

It was his first Bassmaster Kayak Series event victory, a win that earned him a $3,400 check. The event took place in Grove, Oklahoma.

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"I said I was going to win this tournament and figure it out," Gregory said after the event. "It has been my plan all year to fish four of the five to have a chance for the (Old Town) Angler of the Year title. I have a kayak I designed that is coming out really soon for Crescent Kayaks and it is pretty crazy to win this right before this boat is coming out."

He'd never been to the reservoir in Oklahoma before, according to the release. But he studied the map figuring that the body of water was similar to that of Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas, where he tied Eric Siddiqi for first place in a Hobie Bass Open Series last year.

According to the Hobie Bass Open Series website, "both anglers had finished with 171 inches of catch-and-release largemouth bass."

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In the kayak competition Saturday, Gregory used basic kayak fishing skills, "using arm strength and a paddle to maneuver his 10-foot Crescent UltraLite Kayak, the release said. "With no graphs, motor or shallow-water anchor on this particular model, he was able to focus on what was happening in the moment."

The next Bassmaster Kayak Series event will be held May 21 on Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama. The season finale will take place Oct. 8 and 9 at Pickwick Lake in Tennessee.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton native Drew Gregory scores top win in bass tournament