Bridwell Takes Opener on Cherokee

Hughes wins co-angler award in Volunteer Division event

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. – Jason Bridwell of Gray, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division tournament of 2015 on Cherokee Lake. For his victory, Bridwell earned $5,127.

“It feels good to grab a check,” said Bridwell. “There are a lot of solid anglers around here so when I can finish strong it feels great.”

Due to recent cold-weather fronts and sporadic warm-ups around Cherokee Lake, Bridwell sought out the warmest water possible in order to find the largemouth bite. He settled into the Three Springs area where the water was hovering around 50 degrees and used an orange Rapala Shad Rap and a Brownback Chartreuse-colored Bandit 200 Series crankbait to catch his first two keepers.

“I also fished the midsection down by the berry farm area,” Bridwell said. “I worked between there and Three Springs creek in 90 minute intervals.”

Bridwell said he caught seven of his nine keepers between noon and 3 p.m.

“I was fishing shallow depths, from 0 to 4 feet of water,” Bridwell said. “The smaller Shad Rap did its job well.”

Bridwell said his immediate goals are to now qualify for the Volunteer Division Regional tournament.

“Of course, I’d like to win another one of these Saturday tournaments, but fishing the regional event would awesome.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Jason Bridwell, Gray, Tenn., five bass, 17-7, $4,127 + Mercury Bonus: $1,000

2^nd:         Jack Faulkner II, Jacksboro, Tenn., five bass, 15-14, $2,064

3^rd:          Brad Burkhart, Speedwell, Tenn., five bass, 14-6, $1,377

4^th:          Ken Vicchio, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 12-8, $963

5^th:          Joey Ridings, Pennington Gap, Va., five bass, 12-5, $825

6^th:          Tee Watkins, East Point, Ky., five bass, 12-4, $757

7^th:          J.R. Adkins, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 11-6, $688

8^th:          Bryan Leonard, Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 10-8, $619

9^th:          Brandon Brock, Mayking, Ky., five bass, 10-1, $550

10^th:        Bill Humbard, New Market, Tenn., four bass, 9-13, $482

Complete results can be found here.

Burkhart caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $575.

Hughes wins co-angler title

Joshua Hughes of Piney Flats, Tennessee, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $2,064 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Joshua Hughes, Piney Flats, Tenn., five bass, 14-7, $2,064

2^nd:         Jeff Burrell, Greeneville, Tenn., four bass, 11-7, $1,032

3^rd:          Brandon Harris, Spring City, Tenn.,   three bass, 11-3, $688

4^th:          Rocky Morris, Strawberry Plains, Tenn., four bass, 9-1, $482

5^th:          Daniel Baldwin, Harrogate, Tenn., three bass, 9-0, $413

6^th:          Brandon Taylor, Greeneville, Tenn., three bass, 8-6, $378

7^th:          John Gillespie, Princeton, W.Va., three bass, 7-11, $344

8^th:          Jason Forsgren, Morgantown, Ky., three bass, 7-10, $310

9^th:          Matt Brown, Harriman, Tenn., three bass, 6-11, $275

10^th:        Matt Hall , Woodlawn, Va., three bass, 6-7, $241

Harris caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $287

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 15-17 Regional Championship on Lake Wateree in Camden, South Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.