ATHENS, Ala. – Hunter Harwell of Hickory, North Carolina won the Bass Pro Shops Open Series North Carolina event held on Lake Norman on 2/1/19. Running out of the Pinnacle Wildlife access in Mooresville North Carolina, Harwell weighed in a five bass limit totaling 12.46-pounds. His limit was anchored by a bass weighing 3.18-pounds. Harwell took home a check for $2600.00 for the win.
“I made the last-minute decision to switch over from a co-angler to a boater and that was one of the best decisions I have made in a while. I caught my fish on a variety of baits. I caught some on a swimbait, crankbait, and a jerk bait. I had my fish before 11:00,” said Harwell.
In second for the boaters, Kelly Logan of Morganton, North Carolina weighed in a five bass limit weighing 11.01-pounds.
“I had 5 keepers today. I caught them on a crankbait very shallow in about 5 feet of water,” said Logan.
Taking third for the boaters, Michael Stephens of Gastonia, North Carolina, weighed in af ive bass limit weighing 10.34-pounds.
“I caught fish early on a shallow running crankbait and when that bite died, I moved out and caught some in the 40-foot range with a football head jig,” said Stephens.
In fourth place for the boaters, Scott Hamrick of Denver, North Carolina weighed in four bass weighing 10.21-pounds. Rounding out the top five, Michael Fox of Statesville, North Carolina weighed in five bass weighing 9.95-pounds.
The big bass honors for the boaters was caught by Michael Fox of Statesville, North Carolina for a bass weighing 3.40-pounds. Fox collected $500.00 for his bass.
In the Co-angler Division Shane Maultsby of Huntington, West Virginia won with three bass weighing 6.92-pounds with a 2.71-pound kicker fish. Maultsby pocketed $1300.00 for the win.
“I used a variety of baits today. The bite was really slow for me until around 2:00. I caught around 15 fish today,” said Maultsby.
Taking second for the co-anglers, Thomas McDermott of Madison, North Carolina weighed in a three bass limit weighing 6.60-pounds.
“At 7:37 I had already boated two keepers on a jerk bait,” said McDermott. “The bite just stopped after that. I didn’t catch my third keeper until 3:00.”
Taking third for the co-anglers, Chris Anderson of Mooresville, North Carolina weighed in three bass weighing 6.27-pounds.
“I caught 4 keepers today in deeper water on a jig,” said Anderson.
In fourth for the co-anglers Ronald Hearn of Mt. Holly North Carolina, weighed in two bass weighing 6.19-pounds. Rounding out the top five, Adam Gum of Princeton, West Virginia weighed in three bass weighing 6.13-pounds.
The big bass for the co-anglers was a 3.39-pounder weighed in by Adam Gum. He collected $265.00 for his bass.
Top 20 Boaters (FULL RESULTS)
| PL | Angler | Fish | Penalty | Big Bass | Total | Points | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunter C. Harwell | 5 | 0.00 | 3.18 | 12.46 | 250 | 2600 |
| 2 | Kelly W. Logan | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.01 | 249 | 1250 |
| 3 | Michael D. Stephens | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 10.34 | 248 | 950 |
| 4 | Scott Hamrick | 4 | 0.00 | 2.92 | 10.21 | 247 | 800 |
| 5 | Michael L. Fox | 5 | 0.00 | 3.40 | 9.95 | 246 | 1100 |
| 6 | Jake Frye | 5 | 0.00 | 2.83 | 9.60 | 245 | 500 |
| 7 | James Wall | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.38 | 244 | 450 |
| 8 | Randy A. Childers | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.22 | 243 | 375 |
| 9 | George V. Baucom | 5 | 0.00 | 2.15 | 9.17 | 242 | 263 |
| 9 | Matthew B. McBee | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 9.17 | 242 | 263 |
| 11 | Richard Rick J. Bradford | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.76 | 240 | 200 |
| 12 | Jeffrey Queen | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 8.26 | 239 | 0 |
| 13 | Paul G. Tsiolkas | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.63 | 238 | 0 |
| 14 | Parks Jones | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.57 | 237 | 0 |
| 14 | Patrick L. King | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.57 | 237 | 0 |
| 16 | James Jay S. Salloum | 5 | 0.00 | 2.55 | 7.52 | 235 | 0 |
| 17 | Jason Wilson | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.33 | 234 | 0 |
| 18 | Dan Funderburk | 4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.17 | 233 | 0 |
| 19 | Richard Scott Henley | 5 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 7.07 | 232 | 0 |
| 20 | Jeff Hager | 4 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.73 | 231 | 0 |
Slated for March, 9th the next event for the North Carolina Division will be held on Lake Wylie launching from South Point Wildlife Access.
About American Bass Anglers – American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler while offering an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and all their bass tournament trails visit www.americanbassanglers.com.
