Second Colquitt team qualifies for state bass fishing tournament
Mar. 28—MOULTRIE — Two more members of the Colquitt County Packer bass fishing team have qualified for the state tournament.
The team of Jacob Brightwell and Hunter Horne reached the five-fish limit and weighed 7 pounds and 8 ounces at the regional qualifier on March 19 at West Point Lake.
Brightwell and Horne will join the team of Josh Wilkes and Hardin Roberts in representing Colquitt County at the state tournament, scheduled for May 14 at Clarks Hill Lake near Augusta.
Wilkes and Roberts qualified for state on Jan. 22 at the tournament at Lake Seminole.
Colquitt could qualfy another team or two in the final regional qualifier that will be held April 16 at Lake Lanier.
Colquitt County had three teams in the top 50 at West Point Lake.
Wilkes and Roberts were 30th with five fish for 7 pounds and 10 ounces.
Brightwell and Horne were 34th.
The team of Rickie Yates and Dextra Polite Jr. was 50th with 6 pounds and 6 ounces and narrowly missed qualifying.
Six pounds, 7 ounces was the cutoff.
The team of Swayne Burnham and Jesse McMurphy was 94th with two bass weighing 3 pounds, one ounce.
Coach Will Stuckey was pleased that four of the six teams that went out caught fish.
The Trion High team of Andrew Melton and Joseph Willingham finished first with five fish weighing 16 pounds 10 ounces.
The West Point Lake qualifier drew 223 teams.
The day before the teams competed, there was rain, high winds and hail as teams prepared for the third of the four qualifiers, but Stuckey said it was "gorgeous" the day of the event.
