Scott Hamrick of Denver, N.C., and Roger Hoover of Mooresville, N.C., brought a five-fish limit to the scales weighing 15.07 pounds to win The Ugly Stik World’s Largest Santa Claus Bass Tournament on Lake Norman. The event, sponsored by legendary rod maker Ugly Stik and operated by Fishers of Men, set a world record for the largest bass tournament contested by anglers competing in Santa Claus suits with 298 competitors.

With the win, Hamrick and Hoover took home the guaranteed $5,000 first-place prize. The one-day, two-angler team event drew a field of 149 teams and paid out to 30th place.

Hamrick and Hoover said they boated 25-30 fish on the day, most of them coming on a crankbait in the lower portions of the lake. However, their bigger bites came up the lake later in the day.

“The was a fantastic event, just had an awesome time and not just because we won—this area needs this kind of big team tournament where especially this time of year,” Hamrick said. “We hope they have the event next year.”

Nick Miller took home the Big-Bass Pot, valued at $1,040, with 4.68-pound bass.

Anglers with Bass Win Santa Tournament
In addition to a lucrative payout structure and low entry fees, The Ugly Stik World’s Largest Santa Claus Bass Tournament also awarded more than $7,000 worth of raffle prizes from leading fishing brands such as Ugly Stik, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, X2Power, Costa, DuraSafe and Academy Sports + Outdoors.

“There were a lot of great anglers on the water today, including professionals and amateurs, and I can guarantee you none of them has ever had this much fun in a bass tournament. Ugly Stik is about having fun and catching fish—no matter what you’re fishing for—and today reflects that,” said Ugly Stik Vice President of Marketing Jon Schlosser. “We congratulate Scott and Roger for their great day of Lake Norman and we congratulate all the anglers who came to be a part of this great event to generate such a substantial donation to Toys for Tots.”

For more information about Ugly Stik and its legendary line of fishing rods as well as its new line of Ugly Tuff reels and Ugly Tools, go to www.uglystik.com.