Freshour wins co-angler title
J.R. Henard of Rogersville, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division tournament of 2015 on Cherokee Lake. For his victory, Henard earned $5,514.
“Last season I was able to finish strong so that’s what I’m using as motivation this year,” said Henard who was the BFL Wild Card tournament champion last fall. “I’m excited to see what the next few months bring.
“I started at an offshore spot dragging a black and blue-colored Profound Outdoors Swamper football-head jig and I caught my first two keepers within 45 minutes,” said Henard. “I stayed deep, but couldn’t find anything for a long time so I decided to head in shallow and flip willow trees and caught a few more good fish.”
Around 2 o’clock, Henard said he caught his largest fish – a 6-pounder – on a white Spro Poppin’ Frog.
“The frog had a unique shade of white that the bass seemed to be reacting to well,” Henard said.
Looking ahead, Henard hopes he can surpass his success from the 2014 tournament season.
“Winning tournaments like this is just the fuel I need to do more preparation work and fish harder,” Henard said.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: J.R. Henard, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 18-13, $3,514 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Jimmy-Kyle Clark, Morristown, Tenn., five bass, 14-15, $1,757
3rd: Randy Brown, Mosheim, Tenn., five bass, 14-13, $1,172
4th: Lance Grigsby, Luttrell, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $761
4th: Tony Morton, Maryville, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $761
6th: Kevin McKamey, Clinton, Tenn., five bass, 11-10, $615
6th: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., five bass, 11-10, $615
8th: George Carroll, Clinton, Tenn., five bass, 10-11, $527
9th: Jimbo Harris, Maryville, Tenn., five bass, 10-6, $469
10th: Brad Napier, Harts, W. Va., four bass, 10-4, $410
Henard also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $450.
Bill Freshour of Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, weighed in five bass totaling 11 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $1,757 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Bill Freshour, Strawberry Plains, Tenn., five bass, 11-9, $1,757
2nd: Matt Hall, Woodlawn, Va., four bass, 8-10, $879
3rd: Matt Brown, Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 8-8, $585
4th: Donnie Holder, Mooresburg, Tenn., four bass, 8-3, $410
5th: Jason Lake, Barbourville, Ky., three bass, 7-10, $351
6th: Ron Nelson, Kodak, Tenn., five bass, 7-8, $322
7th: Joseph Jenkins, Harrogate, Tenn., three bass, 6-13, $293
8th: Dustin Dyer, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 6-12, $264
9th: Travis Carpenter, Rogersville, Tenn., three bass, 6-9, $234
10th: John Ball, Rogersville, Tenn., three bass, 6-3, $205
John Coker of Knoxville, Tennessee, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $225.
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.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
