Cruz Cope Wins BFL at Lake Cherokee

Boater Cruz Cope of Treadway, Tenn., caught four bass weighing 10 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to earn $3,917 as winner of the BFL Volunteer Division tournament on Lake Cherokee.

Rounding out the top 10 boaters:
2nd: Wayne Coppage, Jonesboro, Tenn., four bass, 9-1, $1,958
3rd: Dewayne Wilson, La Follette, Tenn., five bass, 8-11, $1,307
4th: Joe Lee, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 8-9, $914
5th: Mark Mellons, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 7-6, $783
6th: Junior Harris, Greeneville, Tenn., three bass, 7-2, $718
7th: Gary Heath, Abingdon, Va., three bass, 6-12, $653
8th: Steve Miracle, Dandridge, Tenn., three bass, 6-5, $588
9th: Mike Wolfenbarger, Powell, Tenn., three bass, 6-1, $522
10th: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., three bass, 5-11, $457

Tester winning co-angler

Co-angler Terry Tester II of Elizabethton, Tenn., caught four bass weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces to win $1,940 at the BFL Volunteer Division event at Lake Cherokee.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
2nd: Jacob Phillips, Ten Mile, Tenn., one bass, 4-8, $808
2rd: Chase Thompson, Elizabethton, Tenn., two bass, 4-8, $808
4th: Todd Pippin, Bristol, Tenn., two bass, 4-6, $453
5th: Page Powers, Unicoi, Tenn., one bass, 4-4, $388
6th: William Berthiaume, Telford, Tenn., two bass, 3-15, $339
6th: Ron Lane, Flagler Beach, Fla., one bass, 3-15, $339
8th: Gregory Vinsant, La Follette, Tenn., one bass, 3-7, $291
9th: Bill Neal, Blountville, Tenn., one bass, 3, $229
9th: Matt Ramsey, Piney Flats, Tenn., one bass, 3, $229
9th: Charles Wells Jr., Bristol, Tenn., one bass, 3, $229

Coming up

The next BFL Volunteer Division tournament is scheduled for March 27 at Douglas Lake in Jefferson City, Tenn. After the completion of five Volunteer Division tournaments, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in the points standings will qualify for the Oct. 14-16 Regional Championship at Lake Guntersville in Scottsboro, Ala., where boaters will compete for a Ranger 198VX Ranger powered by a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard plus a Chevy pick-up, and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger 198VX.