Coffee County Anglers Fare Well at National Tournament

Braeden(left) and Colby(right) Thurmond show off their scholarship winnings on April 13th at Kentucky Lake.[Photo Provided]

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club team of Braeden and Colby Thurmond battled 230 teams and some lousy weather in this weekend’s Costa Bassmaster High School National Championship on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. After a good start in Thursday’s opening round, the risk of severe weather on Friday forced the postponement of the 2^nd round, The full field competed on Saturday as the brother tandem captured a 134^th place with a total of 8 fish weighing in at 17 pounds and 12 ounces.

On Thursday, the Thurmonds got off to a good start catching 4 fish that tipped the scales at an even 11 pounds. That finish gave them a placement of 127^th after the first day of competition. After sitting out Friday’s weather delay, Braeden and Colby netted 4 more fish on Friday but they were weighed in at 6 pounds and 12 ounces.

Team Thurmond is the first Coffee County Youth Bass Club team to compete at the national tournament. The Thurmonds qualified for the national championship by finishing the year in 21^st place in the 2016-2017 TN Bass Nation Points Championship. Braeden and Colby captured a 54th place finish in the Tennessee State Championship held in May on Tims Ford.