East Tennessee Bass Nation kicked off its 2025 High School season Saturday with 162 boats launching from Watts Bar Lake. A total of 288 fish were weighed in, with the top 22 teams each recording catches of 10 pounds or more.
Meigs County’s Joey Newman and Bryson Carroll landed the day’s biggest fish, a 6.49-pound largemouth bass.
Kingston’s Candyn Cranfill and Turner Tharpe earned first place with a five-fish limit totaling 16.03 pounds. Close behind were Pickett County’s Rex Regan and Max Moody, who secured second place with five fish weighing 15.73 pounds.
Several local anglers turned in solid performances. Chuckey-Doak’s Brodie and Kolbie Gibson finished 33rd after bringing in four fish weighing 8.6 pounds. Teammate Noah Mentz wasn’t far behind, reeling in three fish on his own for 8.46 pounds and 34th place.
South Greene also had a presence on the water, with Noah Wright and Shane Williams placing 94th with one fish at 1.97 pounds. Meanwhile, Jaxen Taylor and Christian Darnell had a tough outing, losing a nearly four-pounder early in the day and unable to land a keeper above the minimum length for weigh-in.
South Greene’s Wright and Williams, along with Chuckey Doak’s Mentz brothers will be back on the waters on October 4th at Kentucky Lake, while both the Black Knight teams will be in Nashville on October 15th. All four teams will launch out on November 15th at Douglas Lake.
