JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (May 19, 2025) – Boater Dale Pelfrey of Rockwood, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces, Sunday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Cherokee Lake. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. Pelfrey earned $5,613, including the $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
Pelfrey hadn’t been to Cherokee in months prior to launching for the tournament, so he just splashed the boat and went fishing. He wound up putting together a two-part pattern to get the win.
“The shad spawn was the big deal this morning,” he said. “I caught my two best fish on a shad spawn. And then I backed it up with a drop-shot later in the day. It was tough to get bit today. I ended up catching eight keepers total. I think three of the ones I weighed in were on a (swim) jig, and the other two were on the drop-shot.”
Pelfrey targeted the shad spawn around marinas but said that bite fizzled out pretty quick. He left the marinas and stayed in the same general area of the lake after he switched to the finesse pattern. His limit was comprised of five largemouth bass.
The top 11 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Dale Pelfrey, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 17-2, $5,613 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Justin Botts, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 13-12, $1,557
3rd: Bobby Drinnon, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 13-6, $1,037
4th: Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., five bass, 13-2, $726
5th: Greg McDavid, Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 13-0, $623
6th: Travis Bowen, Duffield, Va., five bass, 12-6, $571
7th: Ben Cully, Jefferson City, Tenn., five bass, 12-5, $519
8th: Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., five bass, 12-3, $467
9th: Zachary Francis, Abingdon, Va., four bass, 11-9, $415
10th: Ryan Davidson, Branchland, W.Va., four bass, 11-8, $345
10th: Bryce McDonald, Paintsville, Ky., five bass, 11-8, $345
Dustin Dyer of Johnson City, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $365. Timmy Norris of Mountain City, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and $1,739 Sunday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Timmy Norris, Mountain City, Tenn., three bass, 9-3, $1,739
2nd: Brad Barton, Middlesboro, Ky., three bass, 7-8, $778
3rd: Chris Seese, Ten Mile, Tenn., three bass, 7-7, $521
4th: Tim Martin, Jonesborough, Tenn., three bass, 7-5, $337
4th: Brent Jones, Ashland, Ky., three bass, 7-5, $337
6th: Kirk Miles, Crossville, Tenn., three bass, 6-14, $285
7th: Owen Stamm, Morristown, Tenn., three bass, 6-7, $259
8th: Joey Boling, Walland, Tenn., three bass, 6-3, $320
8th: Kasey Hunley, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., three bass, 6-3, $220
10th: Isaac Mueller, Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 6-2, $182
Timmy Norris of Mountain City, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $182, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Jeremy Gordon of Rutledge, Tennessee, now leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 987 points, while Kasey Hunley of Sharps Chapel, Tennessee, leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 964 points.
The next event for BFL Volunteer Division anglers will be held Sept. 20-21, at Watts Bar in Spring City, Tennessee.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing-123/bfl-cherokee-51925.html
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