As the day turned to night and the scorching heat that had been blistering the field of anglers competing in the Majestic Big Bass Fishing Tournament at Lake Claiborne this past weekend finally started to recede, that was when Quitman resident Shepherd Norris got hot!

After a long day of fishing and with time running out, sometime between 8:30 and 10:00 pm on the final day, the young angler, who represents Quitman High School on the Northeast Louisiana High School Anglers tour, landed a 5.30-pound bass, tremendously reversing his fortunes.

The fifth and final catch of the tournament, which also ended up being the third-biggest bass caught during the time period and the 8th-largest overall, earned Shepard, who recently competed in the Bass Federation Junior World Championship, a time period payout of $150.00 but, more importantly, propelled him to the Youth 13-17 Division championship and the $500.00 first prize that came with it.

The youth division victory marked the second time this summer that the son of Jacob and Gillian (Hough) Norred has come away from a Majestic Bass Tournament with a great payday. On June 6th, Norred took first place in the 13- 17-year-old division in the tournament that was held on Lake D’Arbonne in Farmerville.