MECKLENBURG COUNTY, Va. — Cody Aliff and Jon Parker Pope overcame a tough practice to win the Bassmaster Junior Series at Buggs Island title with a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces. The Triangle Bass Club anglers anchored their bag with a 4-4 largemouth, the Big Bass of the Day.
“This feels great,” Pope said. “I couldn’t have done it without my best bud.”
The Buggs Island Elite Angler team of Brayden Coussou and James Horne finished second with a total of 11-15 and Colton Miller and Landon Lynch from Brunswick Academy finished third with 11-4.
Hailing from Bailey, N.C., Aliff and Pope punched their tickets to the Bassmaster Junior Series National Championship at Clarks Hill this July.
“It feels great,” Aliff said. “This is a dream come true, really.”
Scott Aliff, Cody’s dad and boat captain, said he was proud to see the duo’s hard work pay off in a big way.
“It is one of the better times I’ve had. I’m still lost for words. These boys put the time in. Every second they had a lure in the water, they just put their heads down and grinded. And it paid off.”
Despite early morning storms, all but four teams in the 45-boat field landed a bass during the one-day tournament, with 18 teams landing a limit.
Aliff and Pope only landed two keepers during their practice period, and with lightning flashing as they drove to the boat ramp Sunday morning, they weren’t sure what to expect.
“This place is so big, it is hard to lock it in and figure it out,” Aliff said.
Luckily, the storms moved out, and while the rain continued for a little while, the duo enjoyed a solid day of fishing, landing 10 total bass. They fished grass, wood cover and docks throughout the day and caught the bulk of their weight with a shaky head and a wacky worm.
“We went to a couple of spots we knew, went in there and fished the heck out of them,” Pope said.
By 9 a.m., the duo had landed two keepers. They had the opportunity to have an even bigger bag but couldn’t keep two 4-pounders pegged.
“We were in a cove, and they lost two nice ones,” Scott said. “We packed up and went to another cover, caught a couple fish and got our heads straight. We went back to a cove they lost one this morning and put the final two bass in the boat.”
Fortunately, Aliff was able to land the 4-4 with the wacky worm before the duo rounded out their limit with five minutes to go in the day.
“I skipped a wacky worm under a dock. I hadn’t moved it yet and I lifted my rod up and the fish was swimming to the side with it,” Aliff said.
“We had to really work hard for it,” Pope added. “I didn’t want to lose that fish.”