COLLINS $10K CHAMPIONSHIP - AUG 8-9
Littleton, NC – The NC Bass Challenge made its stop at Lake Gaston this past Saturday, where a deep field of anglers launched in Littleton, NC and brought a remarkable haul of quality bass to the scales in one of the best weigh-ins of the season.
115 teams competed in the event, and when the dust settled, Jake Murdock and John Murdock claimed the victory with a five-bass limit weighing 24.01 pounds — a commanding 3.01-pound margin over the second-place team. The Murdocks also anchored their bag with a 4.90-pound kicker to help seal the win. The pair took home $4,800 in prize money for first place.
After the event Jake Murdock spoke with us about their day on the water: “It was an amazing tournament. We had planned to fish for spawning fish — we found a few on beds in practice, along with a few fry guarders. We also found some good bream beds that looked promising. We ended up fishing the bream beds, and four of the fish we brought to the scales came off them. We caught most of them dragging a Texas rig, and one on a glide bait as well. After the bream bed bite died off, I locked a glide bait in my hand and caught our biggest one on a dock.”
John Edwards and Joey Scott brought a solid five-bass limit weighing 21.00 pounds to claim second place, anchored by an impressive 5.30-pound kicker. Rounding out the top three were Tanner Beaman and Travis Mewborn with 20.50 pounds — a bag that also included the Tournament Big Fish, a stout 5.55-pound largemouth that took home big-fish honors on the day.
Lake Gaston produced plenty of quality kickers as well. Patrick Williams and Kevin Williams weighed a 5.32-pounder, Flash Butts and Shawn Hammack brought a 5.17-pound bass to the scales, Michael and Larry Hobbs anchored their bag with a 5.11-pound largemouth, and Hunter Jones and David Jones’ team posted a 5.04-pounder. JT Denton and Stephen Denton (4.76), Seth Barnes and Joe Daniels (4.73), and Harold and Gerald Herring (4.64) all added solid kickers to round out the day’s big-fish list.
Lake Gaston showed out for the NC Bass Challenge, with a competitive field from top to bottom. The top 19 teams took home cash prizes, and the depth of the bag weights was striking — it took over 13 pounds just to crack the top 20. A total of 85 teams brought fish to the scales, with 75 of those teams managing to bring five-bass limits — a strong sign of the fishery’s health and the consistency of the bite throughout the day.
Jake Murdock / John Murdock – 24.01
John Edwards / Joey Scott – 21.00
Tanner Beaman / Travis Mewborn – 20.50
Shane Doughtie / Evan White – 20.27
Patrick Williams / Kevin Williams – 16.97
Brody Brown / Carl Whittington – 15.51
Seth Barnes / Joe Daniels (sub Brian Williams) – 15.50
Harold Herring / Gerald Herring – 15.44
Brock Rouse / Parker Mills – 15.20
James Shelburne / Jase Shelburne – 15.13
The NC Bass Challenge season continues to deliver exciting finishes, and if this event is any indication, anglers and fans alike are in for another thrilling year of competition.
Points standings from the Lake Gaston event are available through NC Bass Challenge.
Full Tournament Standings
| POS | TEAM | FISH | FINAL | BIG FISH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Murdock / John Murdock | 5 | 24.01 | 4.90 |
| 2 | John Edwards / Joey Scott | 5 | 21.00 | 5.30 |
| 3 | Tanner Beaman / Travis Mewborn | 5 | 20.50 | 5.55 |
| 4 | Shane Doughtie/ Evan White | 5 | 20.27 | 4.60 |
| 5 | Patrick Williams / Kevin Williams | 5 | 16.97 | 5.32 |
| 6 | Brody Brown /Carl Whittington | 5 | 15.51 | 4.21 |
| 7 | Seth Barnes / Joe Daniels (sub Brian Williams) | 5 | 15.50 | 4.73 |
| 8 | Harold Herring / Gerald Herring | 5 | 15.44 | 4.64 |
| 9 | Brock Rouse / Parker Mills | 5 | 15.20 | 0.00 |
| 10 | James Shelburne / Jase Shelburne | 5 | 15.13 | 0.00 |
| 11 | Daniel Boseman / Jordan Hughes | 5 | 15.09 | 0.00 |
| 12 | Blake Eatmon / Jeff Price (sub Cason Price) | 5 | 14.97 | 0.00 |
| 13 | Kris Rabon / Nathan Nobles | 5 | 14.91 | 0.00 |
| 14 | JT Denton / Stephen Denton | 5 | 14.54 | 4.76 |
| 15 | Tyler Little / Chase Crocker | 5 | 14.26 | 0.00 |
| 16 | Adam Richardson / Bentley Richardson | 5 | 14.21 | 3.88 |
| 16 | Flash Butts / Shawn Hammack | 5 | 14.21 | 5.17 |
| 18 | Cody Rogers / | 5 | 13.84 | 0.00 |
| 19 | Jay Allen / Scott Griffin | 5 | 13.82 | 0.00 |
| 20 | Ethan Howard / Jon Williams | 5 | 13.33 | 4.98 |
| 21 | Adam Harris / Timothy Harris | 5 | 13.11 | 0.00 |
| 22 | Justin Coley / Tony Coley | 5 | 13.08 | 3.99 |
| 23 | Josh Brown / Kyle Smith | 5 | 12.95 | 0.00 |
| 24 | Paul King / Brad Stain | 5 | 12.92 | 0.00 |
| 25 | Mike Williams / Marshall Padrick | 5 | 12.58 | 0.00 |
| 26 | Mike May / Cliff Jenkins | 5 | 12.37 | 3.82 |
| 27 | Maitland Howard / Shawn Howard | 5 | 12.31 | 0.00 |
| 28 | James Joyner / Ryan Harrell | 5 | 12.27 | 0.00 |
| 29 | Austin Hughes / Holden Northcott sub (Brandon Overton) | 5 | 12.21 | 0.00 |
| 30 | Michael Hobbs / Larry Hobbs | 4 | 11.94 | 5.11 |
| 31 | Hunter Jones / David Jones (sub Neil Smith) | 5 | 11.93 | 5.04 |
| 32 | Craig Goess / Matthew Oakley | 5 | 11.79 | 0.00 |
| 33 | Jason Pittman / Jeremy Hodge | 5 | 11.59 | 4.86 |
| 34 | Brian Stalls / Kyle White | 5 | 11.52 | 0.00 |
| 35 | Jeremy Ives / Tremain Newton | 5 | 11.49 | 0.00 |
| 36 | Adam Baldwin / Jason Tripp | 5 | 11.44 | 0.00 |
| 37 | Jacob Spence / Tyler Eggers | 5 | 11.40 | 0.00 |
| 38 | Walt Goff / Eric Murphy | 5 | 11.22 | 0.00 |
| 39 | Michael Sims / James Peele | 5 | 11.11 | 0.00 |
| 40 | Chris Turner / Ricky Mize | 5 | 11.06 | 0.00 |
| 41 | Ronald Jones / Zach Wallace | 5 | 10.63 | 0.00 |
| 42 | Bobby Lassiter / Johnny Morton | 5 | 10.61 | 0.00 |
| 43 | Tyler Garner / | 5 | 10.46 | 0.00 |
| 44 | Shane Burns / Jody Campbell | 5 | 10.39 | 0.00 |
| 45 | Buster Seabolt / Scott Mooneyham | 5 | 10.36 | 0.00 |
| 46 | Jody Wynn / Troy Modlin | 5 | 10.35 | 3.23 |
| 47 | Raymond Jones, III / Braxton Chase (sub Melissa Jones) | 5 | 10.33 | 0.00 |
| 48 | Thomas Craft / Spencer Barrow | 5 | 10.27 | 0.00 |
| 49 | Brandon Johnson / Wilson Johnson | 5 | 10.07 | 3.70 |
| 49 | Paul Stevens / Kenneth Mayton | 5 | 10.07 | 0.00 |
| 51 | Andy Liles / Jeff Price | 5 | 10.04 | 0.00 |
| 52 | Houston Cash / Hunter Beale | 5 | 10.02 | 0.00 |
| 53 | Fred Stancil / Clayton Boyette | 5 | 9.86 | 0.00 |
| 54 | Bobby Clark / Thomas Hughes | 5 | 9.76 | 0.00 |
| 55 | David Lambert / | 5 | 9.73 | 0.00 |
| 56 | Wayne Hoskins /William Hoskins | 5 | 9.68 | 0.00 |
| 57 | Jimmy Roughton / Wilbur Westbrook | 5 | 9.64 | 0.00 |
| 58 | Scott Combs / Sammy Barrow | 5 | 9.57 | 0.00 |
| 59 | Dean Thompson / Steve Vann | 5 | 9.29 | 0.00 |
| 60 | Gene Richardson / Blake Richardson | 5 | 9.23 | 0.00 |
| 61 | Brian Briesemeister Jr. / Brian Briesemeister Sr. | 5 | 9.09 | 0.00 |
| 62 | Greg Milligan / Tom Warner | 5 | 9.02 | 0.00 |
| 63 | Carroll Ward / Steve Brinkley | 5 | 8.97 | 0.00 |
| 64 | Keith Roberts / Billy Owens | 4 | 8.95 | 0.00 |
| 65 | Aaron Hershberger / Eugene Foushee (sub Frankie Jordan) | 5 | 8.93 | 0.00 |
| 66 | Brandon Sykes / Kevin Sutton | 4 | 8.74 | 0.00 |
| 67 | Joseph Jernigan / Scott Thomas | 5 | 8.69 | 0.00 |
| 68 | Wyatt Kimmy / | 5 | 8.66 | 0.00 |
| 69 | Eric Brown / Rusty Brown | 5 | 8.58 | 0.00 |
| 70 | Joseph Gurganus / Keith Rogerson | 5 | 8.55 | 0.00 |
| 70 | Kevin Pfautz / | 5 | 8.55 | 0.00 |
| 72 | James Abston / Larry Thomas | 5 | 8.43 | 0.00 |
| 73 | Kevin Ross / Michael Williams | 5 | 8.42 | 0.00 |
| 74 | Lee Jones / Shane Johnson (sub Clayton Smith) | 5 | 8.34 | 0.00 |
| 75 | Tony Coats / Ray Fisher | 4 | 8.28 | 3.67 |
| 76 | Roger Thomas / Dylan Thomas | 5 | 8.27 | 0.00 |
| 77 | Chris Hardesty / Bryce Hardesty | 5 | 7.92 | 0.00 |
| 78 | Joe Lybrand / | 5 | 7.63 | 0.00 |
| 79 | Tim Piacitelli / Joey Beale | 3 | 7.47 | 3.22 |
| 80 | Jim Krozser / David Meissner | 5 | 6.99 | 0.00 |
| 81 | Christopher Mitchell / Alexander Heatherman | 4 | 6.65 | 0.00 |
| 82 | Steve Michaels / Derek Stanley | 4 | 4.68 | 0.00 |
| 83 | Garrett Brown / Aiden Alcock | 3 | 4.07 | 0.00 |
| 84 | Cole Wilkins / Hunter Coats | 3 | 3.84 | 0.00 |
| 85 | Ronnie Casey / | 2 | 3.46 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Zeb West / Ricky Foss, Jr. | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Wayne Harris / Larry Thomas | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Jerry Langley / Daryl Peele | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Matthew Watkins / Avery Watkins | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Mike Whitehurst / Donna Wilson (sub JC Haddock) | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Travis Badgett / Tyler Faggart | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Chris Hamilton / Jamie Hill | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Al Kennedy / Justin Kennedy | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Wayne Stallings (sub Trey Nanney) / Justin Everett | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Mitchell Hofler / Greyson Reel | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Robert Monroe / Alan Steinhauer | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Randy Broughman / Ryan Broughman | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Mikey Anderson / Jay Wright | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Jeff Farmer / Roger Griffith | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Vincent Povazsay / Hunter Capps | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Wesley Bennett / Buck Ellis | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Cameron Johnson / Jordan Norris | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Cody Matthews / Marty Matthews | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Luis Garcia / Emmanuel Mortera | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Richard Seate / | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Kirk Nixon / Trent Nixon | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Ben Dillahunt / Michael Key | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Jeremy Fisher / Richard Seate | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Scooter Lilley / Eric Gallasso | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Nelson Mayton / Jesse Severt | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Kenneth Moore / Joseph Eure | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Powell Kemp / Michael Chlomoudis | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Josh Sharpe / | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Dennis Bennett / Devin Bennett | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 86 | Roy Norville / Junebug Barrow | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Tournament Photos
