DAYTON, Tenn. (Feb. 10, 2025) – Boater Corey Neece of Bristol, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 32 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake Chickamauga. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. Neece earned $11,037 for his victory, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus.
“I just caught ’em scoping an Alabama rig all day,” said Neece, who used 4-inch swimbaits on his A-rig. “I didn’t catch many though. I only caught eight or nine fish all day.”
According to Neece, fishing was slow in the morning. He didn’t start catching them until 10:30 or 11. He attributed the low number of overall bites to the fishing pressure. He said the fish are grouped up in the middle of creek channels with bait – areas where anglers are able to find and target them with live sonar.
“They’re moving into early stages of prespawn, probably,” Neece said about the fish. “They’re starting to move back into the creeks. I had two pretty small stretches of creek channel that they were in. I just bounced back and forth between the two throughout the day.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 32-7, $11,037 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Josh Lee, Powell, Tenn., five bass, 29-14, $2,564
3rd: Jacob Foutz, Philadelphia, Tenn., five bass, 26-3, $1,345
4th: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., five bass, 25-1, $942
5th: Blake Smith, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 22-13, $807
6th: Kevin Drake, Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 22-11, $740
7th: Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., five bass, 22-5, $673
8th: Derrick Stafford, Kingston, Tenn., five bass, 22-4, $606
9th: Robert Wroblewski, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 21-11, $538
10th: Bryce McDonald, Paintsville, Ky., five bass, 20-14, $471
Josh Lee of Powell, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 9 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $545. Joshua Paul of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and $2,019 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Joshua Paul, Oliver Springs, Tenn., three bass, 12-1, $2,019
2nd: Christopher Davis, Huntsville, Ala., three bass, 11-7, $1,009
3rd: Justin McGaha, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 10-8, $675
4th: Hunter Wilson, Greenback, Tenn., three bass, 10-2, $471
5th: Kasey Hunley, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., three bass, 9-14, $404
6th: Tony Thompson, Friendsville, Tenn., three bass, 9-10, $370
7th: Ransom Boone, Marshall, N.C., three bass, 9-5, $336
8th: Ricky Sexton, Oliver Springs, Tenn., three bass, 8-11, $303
9th: Randall Kramer, Signal Mountain, Tenn., three bass, 8-7, $269
10th: Don Carmack, Middlesboro, Ky., three bass, 8-2, $235
Tim Martin of Jonesborough, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $272, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After one event, Corey Neece of Bristol, Tennessee, leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Joshua Paul of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.
The next event for BFL Volunteer Division anglers will be held March 8, at South Holston Reservoir out of Bristol, Tennessee.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-chickamauga-21025.html
Bass Fishing League (BFL) News