BRIDWELL WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE VOLUNTEER DIVISION OPENER ON CHEROKEE LAKE

“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 zero to four 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 finished the tournament in:

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 at FLWFishing.com.

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

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 were:

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.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.