White Pine’s Pridemore Claims Co-angler Title

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (June 12, 2017) – Jack Faulkner II of Jacksboro, Tennessee, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division tournament on Cherokee Lake Saturday with a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 5 ounces. For his win, Faulkner took home $3,289.

“I didn’t have anything in the boat until 9 (a.m.),” said Faulkner, who logged his third career-victory in BFL competition. “After that, I caught three on a bone-colored Heddon Zara Spook, all from grassy points.”

Faulkner said all of his key areas were mid-lake, within a mile of the takeoff ramp.

“Around noon, I started fishing a 10-inch, green pumpkin Yamamoto straight-tailed worm and caught three more,” said Faulkner. “They came deeper from the points, but they needed to have some rocks.”

Faulkner said his two largest fish were caught using the worm between noon and 1 p.m.

“I only had six keepers all day, but they were the right size,” said Faulkner.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Jack Faulkner II, Jacksboro, Tenn., five bass, 15-5, $3,289

2^nd:         Craig Powers, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 14-10, $1,644

3^rd:          James Nuckols Jr., Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 14-1, $1,097

4^th:          Hermilo Salgado, Artemus, Ky., five bass, 13-8, $967

5^th:          Jeremy Swanson, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 13-6, $658

6^th:          Eddie Richards, Corbin, Ky., five bass, 13-1, $603

7^th:          Bill Humbard, New Market, Tenn., five bass, 12-6, $548

8^th:          Michael Cantrell, Philadelphia, Tenn., five bass, 12-1, $493

9^th:          Larry Neal, Piney Flats, Tenn., five bass, 11-13, $438

10^th:        Ken Vicchio, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 11-12, $684

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

George Brock of Mooresburg, Tennessee, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $395.

Travis Pridemore of White Pine, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $1,644 Saturday after weighing four bass totaling 11 pounds, 9 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Travis Pridemore, White Pine, Tenn., four bass, 11-9, $1,644

2^nd:         Josh Smith, Corbin, Ky., five bass, 9-14, $822

3^rd:          Jason Moorman, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 9-12, $549

4^th:          Doug Austin, Bristol, Va., five bass, 9-11, $384

5^th:          Brandon Hartgrove, Hiltons, Va., three bass, 9-4, $526

6^th:          Joey Boling, Walland, Tenn., four bass, 8-13, $301

7^th:          John Coker, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 8-12, $474

8^th:          Audie Aultman, Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 7-5, $247

9^th:          Jason Khym, Maryville, Tenn., three bass, 7-3, $219

10^th:        David Blakely, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 7-2, $242

Hartgrove caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces – which earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $197.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the James River in Williamsburg, Virginia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.