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by bassnomad

Honey Badger don’t care! Tharp claims first Elite win at Bull Shoals

I’m no mind-reader, but I’m pretty sure I know what Randall Tharp is thinking here. Photo by Joel Shangle.
Randall Tharp jacks the winning fish on the Arkansas State campus stage. Photo by Joel Shangle.
Garmin pro Jared Lintner loads up while son JC holds his bag. Photo by Joel Shangle.
Randall Tharp gets a little love from the crowd on the way to his win. Photo by Joel Shangle.
The Howell boys at work: Randy bagging, Laker holding … and Oakley taking this photo! Photo by Oakley Howell.
Garmin pro Fred Roumbanis shows off a pair of beautiful Ozarks smallies. Photo by Joel Shangle.
Randy Allen loads up a Bull Shoals chunk on Day 3. Photo by Joel Shangle.
Tharps winning bait. A jig, surprise surprise. Photo by Joel Shangle.
Jeff Kriet bags up a gnarly Bull Shoals smallmouth. Photo by Joel Shangle.
Justin Lucas’s fish fought him all the way from his Phoenix livewell to his bag. Photo by Joel Shangle.

MOUNTAIN HOME, Arkansas – Count it among one of my favorite “little moments before the big moment”: the tiniest of smiles crept across Randall Tharp’s face as he sat in his boat on the Arkansas State campus, waiting for the Championship Sunday weigh-in at the Bull Shoals/Norfork Lake Elite Series event.

Anyone who knows Tharp knows that he’s a fierce competitor. Supremely nice guy, but F-I-E-R-C-E fierce. A former Forrest Wood Cup champion and perpetual threat to win an Angler of the Year title, Tharp had fought through a disappointing season in 2015 and was back in contention to add some hardware to his trophy case back home in Florida.

To say that Tharp wanted an Elite Series trophy is an understatement of epic proportions.

But the Honey Badger’s smile said it all: He knew he had it won.

Here’s a little peek at what the Bull Shoals/Norfork event looked like through the Bass Nomad lens.
-Joel Shangle