NEW TAZEWELL, Tenn. (March 14, 2016) – Derrick Snavely of Rogersville, Tennessee, and Jack Faulkner of Jacksboro, Tennessee, each weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to share top honors at the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division tournament on Norris Lake. For their efforts, both earned $3,095, with Snavely adding another $3,000 in contingency bonuses.
Snavely said he targeted suspended smallmouth bass along the Clinch River side of the lake near specific, slate-colored rock. He said he caught 12 keepers using a shad-colored custom swimbait and ended up weighing in four smallmouth and one largemouth bass.
“This swimbait had a different kind of action that I don’t think the bass were used to seeing,” said Snavely. “I used different heads depending on how deep I wanted to go and I caught a lot of fish on it.”
Faulkner said he was also targeting suspended bass in the same area of the lake, but he opted for an unnamed crankbait. He said he caught six keepers throughout his day.
“I only needed a small stretch of that rock to catch my stringer,” said Faulkner. “I fished for them in water that was 8 to 10 feet deep and was able to put some good ones in the boat.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Derrick Snavely, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 16-10, $3,095 + $1,000 Mercury Bonus + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
1st: Jack Faulkner, Jacksboro, Tenn., five bass, 16-10, $3,095
3rd: Bryant Ailor, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 16-1, $1,377
4th: Rodney Cochran, Tazewell, Tenn., five bass, 15-11, $963
5th: Chase Henley, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 14-5, $825
6th: Jimmy Daniels, Paintsville, Ky., five bass, 14-3, $757
7th: Kevin Edwards, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 14-1, $688
8th: Dale Pelfrey, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 14-0, $619
9th: Mike May, Williamson, W. Va., five bass, 13-14, $550
10th: Michael Cantrell, Philadelphia, Tenn., five bass, 13-7, $482
Trevor Prichard of Knoxville, Tennessee, caught a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $575. Randall Hillyer of Summerville, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to earn $1,944 and win the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Randall Hillyer, Summerville, S.C., five bass, 15-13, $1,944
2nd: Stephen Woods, Bristol, Va., five bass, 15-12, $972
3rd: Elvin Helton, Maynardville, Tenn., five bass, 14-6, $649
4th: Jim Neece Sr., Bristol, Va., four bass, 10-13, $454
5th: Mathew Blalock, Maryville, Tenn., five bass, 10-2, $389
6th: Joseph Renfro, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 10-0, $356
7th: Brandon Harris, Spring City, Tenn., five bass, 9-12, $324
8th: John Coker, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 9-8, $292
9th: Jeff Boone, Mount Washington, Ky., five bass, 9-5, $259
10th: Richard Casey, Honaker, Va., three bass, 9-2, $227
Greg Blair of Elizabethton, Tennessee, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $262.