Moore Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament at Watts Bar

SPRING CITY, Tenn. (June 10, 2024) – Boater Jeffery Moore of Harriman, Tennessee, caught a three-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Watts Bar Lake . The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. Moore earned $8,889, including the lucrative $5,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory. To protect the resource, the anglers competing at Watts Bar were held to a three-fish limit. For Moore, catching a 13-plus-pound three-fish bag was a solid showing for this time of year

“I grew up on that lake fishing,” he said. “I ran history. I’ve been catching a few fish off a place cranking. I pulled up there today (Saturday) and I caught a good one and a keeper. Then I ran another spot and caught my third one. And then I went flipping after that. I put a jig in my hand and went flipping the rest of the day. I caught my biggest fish flipping and probably caught two limits flipping.”

Later in the day, Moore pulled up on a key brush pile sunk in about 11 feet of water and, using a worm, landed a 3-pounder that gave him the final boost he needed to lock up the win by just 8 ounces over second place.

It was classic summertime run-and-gun fishing. After he caught his initial limit cranking, Moore was confident that if he could get a quality bite up shallow on a jig, which he did, that he’d have a chance to win it. But he knew he had to mix it up, too. Moore’s final three-fish limit consisted of one caught on a crankbait, one on a worm and one on a jig.

“The lake’s not fishing as good as it used to. Used to this time of year you could stay deep and you could just hit holes. They’d school up. They don’t school up like they used to. You just kind of have to run water.”

While reflecting on his win, Moore thanked Phoenix Boats dealer Bunch Marine in Harriman, Tennessee, for their support.

“They take really good care of me,” he added. “They’ve treated me really well. Super nice people.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Jeffery Moore, Harriman, Tenn., three bass, 13-2, $8,889 (includes $5,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Jake Gardner, Lenoir City, Tenn., three bass, 12-10, $1,944
3rd:       Travis Bowen, Duffield, Va., three bass, 9-11, $1,297
4th:        Dustin Dyer, Johnson City, Tenn., three bass, 9-8, $907
5th:        Randy Oliver, Johnston City, Tenn., three bass, 9-7, $778
6th:        Derrick Blake, Rockwood, Tenn., three bass, 9-6, $713
7th:        John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., three bass, 9-5, $583
7th:        Blake Wheat, Evensville, Tenn., three bass, 9-5, $583
7th:        Dalton Munsey, Washburn, Tenn., three bass, 9-5, $1,108
10th:     Chase Henley, Kingston, Tenn., three bass, 9-4, $579

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Dalton Munsey of Washburn, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $525. Travis Malone of Wartburg, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and $2,494 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Travis Malone, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 8-13, $2,494
2nd:       Matt Burgess, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 8-5, $972
3rd:       Konnor Sweet, Abingdon, Va., three bass, 8-4, $649
4th:        Don Bible, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 7-5, $454
5th:        Conner Hicks, Tazewell, Va., three bass, 7-3, $389
6th:        Shaun Godsey, Decatur, Tenn., three bass, 6-15, $356
7th:        Tyler Wyrick, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., two bass, 6-8, $308
7th:        Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., three bass, 6-8, $308
9th:        Rex Henry, Hixson, Tenn., three bass, 6-7, $259
10th:     Harold Addison II, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 6-0, $227

Dewayne Drummonds of Gray, Kentucky, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $262, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Corey Neece of Bristol, Tennessee, leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 943 points, while Keith Gunsauls of Dandridge, Tennessee, leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 946 points.