Athens, Al — Adam Wagner  the 2013 Ray Scott Champion from Cookeville, Tennessee won the American Bass Anglers Open Series Tennessee Central tournament held February 24, 2018 at Center Hill.  Running out of Edgar Evins State Park in Silver Point, Tennessee.  Adam caught five bass tournament limit weighing 23.26 pounds with an 8.01-pound kicker.  For his effort he took home $5000 for his win plus $670 big bass honors. “I had one specific spot, I was lucky to get to it because it is a community hole.  I threw a jig for 20 minutes without a bite.  I would get a little peck here and there.  I went through everything I had on the deck except for one bait and it was a DT6.  I picked it up and I got the school fired up and absolutely blistered them for an hour.  I caught everything making the exact same cast.” stated Wagner.
Second place for the boaters was Matt Stanley of Alexandria, Tennessee.  He landed five fish weighing in at 21.19 pounds and took home $1,250 for his catch.  “I caught 75 fish at least.  Had 11 keeper smallmouth, 12 largemouth, and the rest were spotted bass.  I caught them on spinnerbait, crankbait, and a jig.” said Stanley.
Jason Dies of Lebanon, Tennessee took third place with a five-fish limit that weighed 20.63 pounds.  His bag included a nice 4.64-pound smallmouth bass.  Dies took home a check for $900 for his fish.  “I caught all my fish flipping a submerged island right off the river channel with a jig. Went back there about 1 o’clock and caught my two-big fish and culled up. I had a pretty good day.” said Dies.

In fourth place for the boaters, Jason Locke from Woodbury, Tennessee weighed in five bass for 19.47 pounds including a 4.81 pounder.

Rounding out the top five was Barry Johnson from Walling, Tennessee with 18.23 pounds.

Top 20 Boaters

Place	Name/Profile	Fish	Big Bass	Total	Points
1	Adam M. Wagner	5	8.01	23.26	250
2	Matt R. Stanley	5	0.00	21.19	249
3	Jason Dies	5	4.64	20.63	248
4	Jason S. Locke	5	4.81	19.47	247
5	Barry L. Johnson	5	0.00	18.23	246
6	Chris R. Tramel	5	0.00	17.99	245
7	Charlie Caplinger	5	3.94	17.04	244
8	Jayson A. Johnson	5	5.00	16.79	243
9	Matthew C. Bouldin	5	0.00	16.68	242
10	Tony Eckler	5	5.84	16.00	241
11	Christopher Wooten	5	0.00	15.67	240
12	Tim C. Messer	5	0.00	15.20	239
13	Josh B. Tramel	5	0.00	15.02	238
14	Anthony W. Nash	5	0.00	14.81	237
15	Steve E. Caudell	5	4.06	14.01	236
16	Shane Thompson	5	0.00	13.75	235
17	Terry Steele	5	0.00	13.41	234
18	Tim Staley	5	0.00	13.14	233
19	Brandon C. Edel	5	0.00	13.02	232
20	Daniel D. Johnson	5	0.00	12.74	231

In the Co-Angler division, Craig Allen from Kingston Springs, Tennessee took the win with a three-fish tournament limit that weighed 9.02 pounds.  Allen also had the biggest fish among the co-anglers which was a 3.73-pound bass.  He earned $900 for the win along with the Big Bass award of $135.  “I had a limit by 8 o’clock and decided I was going to change what I was doing and up-size.  I culled two fish and I caught the good smallmouth.  Only caught five keepers today but I had a good day.” said Allen.

Taking second for the co-anglers was Kenny Anderson from Sparta, Tennessee.  Anderson brought three bass to the stage that weighed 8.87 pounds.  His three-fish earned him a check for $400.  “I didn’t lose a fish so that was a good thing.  Got them all in the boat so it was just one of those days.  Needed that big bite but didn’t get it.” said Anderson.

Ryan Harpe from Cookeville, Tennessee came in third with three bass weighing 6.99 pounds.  “We had a pretty good morning this morning.  Starting right off the bat, we caught all our fish.  We had everything that we had by about 9:30. Caught my biggest fish on a jig and the other two came on a rattletrap.” said Harpe.

In fourth place among the co-anglers, Randy Griffin of Murfreesboro, Tennessee weighed in three bass that weighed 6.98 pounds.  Rounding out the top five was Herbert Hall of Harrison, Tennessee who had a three-fish bag weighing 5.78 pounds.

Top 10 Co-Anglers

Place	Name/Profile	Fish	Big Bass	Total	Points
1	Craig Allen	3	3.73	9.02	250
2	Kenny Anderson	3	0.00	8.87	249
3	Ryan Harpe	3	0.00	6.99	248
4	Randy Griffin	3	3.31	6.98	247
5	Herbert Hall	3	0.00	5.78	246
6	Justin M. Clark	2	0.00	5.23	245
7	Roy Yother	2	0.00	5.02	244
8	Greg Whittaker	3	0.00	4.84	243
9	Ethan T. Wheeler	3	0.00	4.51	242
10	Jake J. Short	3	0.00	4.46	241

The next Tennessee Central tournament is slated for March 24, 2018 on Percy Priest going out of Fate Sanders Marina in Smyrna, Tennessee.

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.