Tharpe And James Use Late Flurry To Win Bassmaster Junior National Championship

Turner Tharpe and Blake James of Rhea County, Tenn., have won the 2020 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Junior National Championship with a two-day total of 13 pounds, 15 ounces.

Photo by Emily Hand/B.A.S.S.

Tharpe And James Use Late Flurry To Win Bassmaster Junior National Championship

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HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — Thanks in part to an afternoon flurry, Rhea County (Tenn.) seventh graders Turner Tharpe and Blake James caught 8 pounds, 2 ounces on Championship Tuesday to claim the Mossy Oak Fishing Junior Bassmaster National Championship on the Carroll County 1000 Acre Recreational Lake with a two-day total of 13-15.

They earned a $2,500 scholarship.

“It feels amazing,” Turner said. “I’m not sure if we will be able to do this ever again, but I hope we will.”

Turner and James threw a wacky rig around shallow, offshore brush in a pocket most of Day 1, boat captain Brent Tharpe said. On Day 2, Turner and James started on the same structure but bright skies and calm conditions slowed the bite.

“I just told them to keep their head in the game and don’t get distracted and worry about other boats,” Brent Tharpe said.

James and Turner had just one fish by midday, but conditions started to change as wind and some clouds entered the area.

“The sun went behind the clouds and it started to get a little windy,” James said. “Yesterday, that seemed to be when we caught them, because it was cloudy, so that helped after lunch.”

Along with the weather change, Turner and James moved away from their shallow cover to a ditch in the middle of the pocket that had trees stacked in it. They filled their limit there with a drop shot.

“We figured out that they weren’t up shallow, so we moved out and started catching some fish,” Turner said.

Logan Lopossa and Koby Sollars from the Southside Anglers in Indiana finished second with a two-day total of 12-8 after catching four fish for 4-13 on Day 2. They earned a $1,000 scholarship.

Sollars said he and Lopossa caught all of their fish in the morning and, while they had bites during the afternoon, they couldn’t find another keeper.

The duo landed one fish in the afternoon that fell just shy of the 12-inch size limit. Lopossa and Sollars previously qualified for the 2019 National Championship, and they used their experience from that tournament to help them during this event.

“We were catching them on a shaky head and a paddletail worm,” Lopossa said. “We were here last year and we caught them on that (plum) color. So, we threw it on a shaky head and they just kept destroying it.”

Lopossa and Sollars moved back and forth from deep to shallow, but one particular dropoff with stumps and gravel produced all their bites on Day 2.

Kasen Pemberton and Hunter Prough from the Chipley High fishing team finished third with 12-3 and won an $800 scholarship, while Kyle and Nicholas Herrman from the Topeka Jr. Hawgs program held onto the Big Bass award with a 5-4 largemouth they caught on Day 1, earning them a $200 scholarship.

With the Junior Championship complete, the focus shifts to the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School National Championship at Kentucky Lake presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors Oct. 22-24. Action begins Thursday at 7 a.m. CT from Paris Landing State Park with weigh-in starting at 3 p.m.

Bethel University is hosting both tournaments in conjunction with the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and Henry County Tourism Authority.

2020 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Junior National Championship 10/19-10/20Carroll County 1000 Acre Recreational Lake, Huntingdon  TN.(BOATER) Standings Day 2

    Angler                                       Club/School                       Pts

1.  Turner Tharpe – Blake James                  Rhea County                           0Day 1: 5   05-13     Day 2: 5   08-02   Total:  10  13-152.  Logan Lopossa – Koby Sollars                 Southside Anglers                     0Day 1: 5   07-11     Day 2: 4   04-13   Total:   9  12-083.  Kasen Pemberton – Hunter Prough              Chipley High                          0Day 1: 5   05-12     Day 2: 5   06-07   Total:  10  12-034.  Jaylin White – Colden Baker                  Lugoff-Elgin Middle                   0Day 1: 5   04-08     Day 2: 5   07-04   Total:  10  11-125.  Jack Myers – Lucas Gerlach                   Denver Jr. Bassmaster                 0Day 1: 4   09-01     Day 2: 2   02-01   Total:   6  11-026.  Pate Anderson – Bobby Miller                 Susquehanna Valley Fishing Team       0Day 1: 4   04-07     Day 2: 5   06-04   Total:   9  10-117.  Dakota Carter – Preston Keller               OKC Junior Bassmasters                0Day 1: 4   03-12     Day 2: 4   06-11   Total:   8  10-078.  Zane Parker – Garrett Wilson                                                       0Day 1: 5   04-09     Day 2: 5   05-11   Total:  10  10-049.  Langston Martin – Coleman Mezick             Lee County Anglers                    0Day 1: 5   05-13     Day 2: 4   04-06   Total:   9  10-0310. Carson Harrell – Colton Harrell              chapman panthers                      0Day 1: 3   04-07     Day 2: 5   05-03   Total:   8  09-1011. Trent Volz – Carson Volz                     Indian Creek                          0Day 1: 4   04-06     Day 2: 3   04-08   Total:   7  08-1412. Charles Klug –                               PJ Jacobs Junior High                 0Day 1: 5   04-12     Day 2: 4   03-15   Total:   9  08-1113. Holten Phillips – Griffin Ralph              Lakeside                              0Day 1: 5   05-03     Day 2: 3   02-13   Total:   8  08-0014. Kyle Herrman – Nicholas Herrman              Topeka Jr Hawgs                       0Day 1: 4   07-15     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   4  07-1515. Annabel Hellum – Ben Lewis                   Phoenix Junior Bassmasters            0Day 1: 4   04-03     Day 2: 3   03-12   Total:   7  07-1516. Landon Pierce – Korbin Neat                  Casey County                          0Day 1: 3   03-12     Day 2: 5   04-00   Total:   8  07-1217. Peter Duffy – Bryce Formsma                  GR Bass boys Northview                0Day 1: 5   05-00     Day 2: 3   02-10   Total:   8  07-1018. Mason Dople – Gabryel St John                Jellico Middle                        0Day 1: 1   03-07     Day 2: 4   03-14   Total:   5  07-0519. Bo Hollen – Ari Clark                        Mon Valley Bassmaster’s               0Day 1: 4   03-08     Day 2: 4   03-10   Total:   8  07-0220. Colt Sitton – Ryan Grace                     North OKC Bassmasters                 0Day 1: 2   02-01     Day 2: 3   05-00   Total:   5  07-0121. Sawyer Knickerbocker – Gage Dowers           SWLA Jr Anglers                       0Day 1: 5   05-08     Day 2: 2   01-02   Total:   7  06-1022. Gavin White – Brandon Smith                  LA Junior Bassmasters                 0Day 1: 4   04-15     Day 2: 1   01-06   Total:   5  06-0523. Jack Meiser – Blake Meiser                   Eureka                                0Day 1: 4   04-14     Day 2: 1   01-05   Total:   5  06-0324. Brody Kellum – Carson Thompson               Franklin County Middle School         0Day 1: 5   05-01     Day 2: 1   01-00   Total:   6  06-0125. Garret Crow – Brayzon Riddle                 Lone Star Jr Bassmaster               0Day 1: 2   03-08     Day 2: 2   02-06   Total:   4  05-1426. Jace Buxton – Ethan Graham                   Jackson County                        0Day 1: 2   01-15     Day 2: 3   03-10   Total:   5  05-0927. Caleb Roblin – Jackson Landry                Jr Southwest Bassmasters- LA          0Day 1: 2   02-01     Day 2: 4   03-08   Total:   6  05-0928. William Griswold – Seth Schnoebelen          Center Point                          0Day 1: 2   01-15     Day 2: 2   03-08   Total:   4  05-0729. Kyle Johnson – Jared Johnson                 Black Swamp Youth Bass Club           0Day 1: 2   02-04     Day 2: 3   03-03   Total:   5  05-0730. Lucas Sheafer – Steele Smith                 Louisburg middle school               0Day 1: 1   01-11     Day 2: 4   03-10   Total:   5  05-0531. Beau McQuade – Curtis Russler                Jr. Potomac River Bassmasters         0Day 1: 2   02-07     Day 2: 2   02-09   Total:   4  05-0032. Mason Carden – Dawson Bryant                 Columbiana Middle School              0Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   04-15   Total:   5  04-1533. Alex Meland – Carter Michalek                Eastern Iowa Jr Bassmasters           0Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   04-14   Total:   5  04-1434. Judd Byrd – Samuel Nicholas                  Oak Grove                             0Day 1: 2   02-09     Day 2: 2   02-05   Total:   4  04-1435. Joey Elliott – Aiden Pihaylic                Anchor Bay                            0Day 1: 4   04-12     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   4  04-1236. Ian Reed – Mason Everts                      Hartleys Hawgs                        0Day 1: 2   02-05     Day 2: 2   02-01   Total:   4  04-0637. Bryce Cast – Ayden Cast                      St. Louis Area Bassmasters            0Day 1: 2   02-12     Day 2: 1   01-09   Total:   3  04-0538. Ridge Faircloth – Jake Burns                 Liberty County High School            0Day 1: 2   02-10     Day 2: 1   01-06   Total:   3  04-0039. Chan Cawthon – Troy Harper                   Indian Creek                          0Day 1: 1   01-00     Day 2: 3   02-12   Total:   4  03-1240. Luke Ankrom –                                Williamstown                          0Day 1: 1   01-08     Day 2: 2   02-01   Total:   3  03-0941. Connor Young – Brent Christopher             Boyle County Rebels                   0Day 1: 1   03-04     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   1  03-0442. Jarren Crowder – Elijah Ambrose              Jr. Potomac River Bassmasters         0Day 1: 2   02-02     Day 2: 1   00-15   Total:   3  03-0143. Ryder Milam – Colton Milam                   Mecklenburg County                    0Day 1: 1   01-01     Day 2: 2   01-14   Total:   3  02-1544. Jack Varnado – Hunter Robertson              Jr. Southwest Bassmasters of Den      0Day 1: 3   02-13     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   3  02-1345. Landon Gabby – Easton Hillard                Southern Illinois Future Anglers      0Day 1: 1   01-02     Day 2: 1   01-11   Total:   2  02-1346. Andrew Terry – Greer Gammon                  Dickson County High School            0Day 1: 2   02-11     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   2  02-1147. Eli Walker – Gage Jones                      Bluestone Middle School               0Day 1: 2   02-04     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   2  02-0448. Carter Pjesky – Hayden Host                  Off the Hook Bassmasters              0Day 1: 4   03-06     Day 2: 0   -02-00   Total:   4  01-0649. Elijah Bryant – Blake Conrad                 East Jessamine Middle School          0Day 1: 1   01-06     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   1  01-0650. Nicholas Gatchis Conca – Hudson Subach       Jr. Denver Bassmasters                0Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   01-03   Total:   1  01-0351. Harrison Betker – Ryder Rousseau             Osseo                                 0Day 1: 3   01-01     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   3  01-0152. Kade Sturgill – Wyatt Trexler                Rowan County Youth Anglers            0Day 1: 1   01-00     Day 2: 1   00-00   Total:   2  01-0053. Zack Brose – Noah Goedjen                    Heritage Christian Academy            0Day 1: 1   01-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   1  01-0053. Joseph Horne – Jacob Butcher                 Arkansas Youth Anglers                0Day 1: 1   01-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   1  01-00———————————————————————–TotalsDay   #Limits    #Fish      Weight1        11       150       177-132         9       128       143-13———————————-20       278       321-10

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