Coble, Long win at Tuckertown

Chris Coble and Jim Long brought in a 5-fish tournament limit weighing 20.32 pounds to capture Saturday’s Fishers of Men Piedmont Division event at Tuckertown Lake. Their biggest bass weighed 4.76 pounds. They shared $3,400.

Dave Snyder of Concord and Larry Carpenter challenged but fell less than 1 pound shy of the leaders with 19.88 pounds to take the second-place prize of $1,000. They bolstered their catch with a 5.57-pound bass.

Robin Collins of Rockingham and Ronnie White of Troy brought in 19.52 pounds for third place, winning $955. They had the second-biggest bass of the day with a 6.07-pound fish.

Brandon Shaver of Albemarle and Chris Tucker placed fourth with 19.19 pounds for $538; Allen Robbins of Asheboro and Timothy Robbins had 17.59 pounds for fifth place and claimed big-fish bragging rights with a 6.19-pound bass and shared $759.

Completing the top 10 teams were Mark and Audrey Bayse of Thomasville, sixth, with 17.40 pounds; Shawn Williams of Albemarle and Curtis Cox, seventh, with 16.42 pounds; CJ Johnston and Matt Stanley, both of Salisbury, eighth, with 15.55 pounds; Drew Montgomery of Maiden and Kenny Seagle of Salisbury, ninth, with 15.13 pounds; and Josh and Neil Preslar, 10th, with 14.80 pounds.

Winston-Salem’s Steve Sink won the Rock Outdoors Legend drawing.

A field of 41 teams fished the event and weighed in 18 5-fish limits with 12 teams having one fish or less to show for their efforts.

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The COVID-19 virus is still raising havoc with the world of sports and tournament fishing is no exception.

The State of New York recently established guidelines for sports competitions which include diagnostic testing and protocols for daily health screenings for athletes and staff along with other safety and social distancing measures. No fans or spectators are allowed to attend events, even those held at outdoor venues.

Subsequently, B.A.S.S. officials canceled the July 14-17 Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake, Village of Union Springs, N.Y.

“New York does allow for professional athletes to have a fast track to compete here, but the regulations and protocols were way beyond what we could produce,” said Mayor Bud Shattuck of the Village of Union Springs, the tournament host. “While we tried valiantly to get this done, it was beyond our control given the tight time frame between when guidelines were announced and competition.”

B.A.S.S. believes the required testing can be met so that its other two New York events, the July 23-26 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River and the July 30-Aug. 2 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain, can be held as planned.

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Salisbury’s Rodney Bell won Saturday’s Phoenix Bass Fishing League N.C. Division tournament at Kerr Lake with 18-5, earning $5,024

Marty Warren of Elon had 17-6 for second place and $2,697. Tom Wilkinson of Oxford ranked third bringing in 15-2, banking $1,464.

Other Tar Heel fishermen in the top 15 were John Wiese of Charlotte, fifth, with 14-2 for $879; Ron Wolfarth of Oakboro, sixth, with 13-14 for $805; Raymond Jones III, eighth, with 13-11 for $659; Buddy Black of Lawndale, 10th, with 12-15 for $513; Jeffrey Davis of Williamston, 12-6 for $410; and Roger Griffith of Sneads Ferry, 14th, with 12-1 for $388.

Other scores of interest included Trace Bigelow of Salisbury, 19th, with 11-13 for $300 and Chris Baldwin of Lexington, 22nd, with 11-9 for $478.

Dale Surrett of Midland placed first among the co-anglers with 13-5, collecting $2,197.

Co-angler Hubert Roman of Lexington finished 15th weighing in 7-12 that paid $183.

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Bo Russell held two tournaments at Badin Lake.

Bradley Clark and Dustin Fincher won the July 7 encounter putting 10.71 pounds on the scales; Luke Brown of Trinity and Hunter McKay placed second with 10.68 pounds. Mike White and Johnny Reeves claimed big-fish bragging rights with a 4.81-pound bass.

Shane Lineberger of Lincolnton and his partner won the July 19 contest landing 13.05 pounds; Runner-ups Anthony Brooks of Albemarle and Aaron Brooks had 12.03 pounds. Gastonia’s Kyle Wihsnant took big-fish honors with a 5.62-pound bass.

Tony Garitta is a fishing columnist for The Dispatch.