Team named Angler of the Year of the 2023 Bridgeport Team Trail Spring Bass Tournament

The 2023 Bridgeport Team Trail Spring Bass Tournament series is over, and a champion Angler of the Year has been crowned. 

Congratulations to the team of Ben Etheredge and Ryan Schroeder, who beat out 78 other teams to take home the Community Neighbor Bank Angler of the Year bonus plus tournament money for a total of $2,700. 

The AOY is determined by adding the points from all four spring tournaments. The first was Feb. 25, and the last was April 29. Even though Etheredge and Schroeder came in fourth in the April 29 tournament, they had enough points after adding up the previous three tournaments to take championship honors. 

The team did not actually win any of the tournaments but fished consistently and finished in the top 10 in all the tournaments. They were in the top 5 in the Feb. 25 and April 29 tournaments.  

Bo Spence and Tyler Temple won the Feb. 25 tourney with 20.43 pounds. Winner of the March 18 tournament was Greg Griggers with an18.44 pound bag. Gray and Cory Smith took the April 1 tournament with only 13.35 pounds. 

First place in the final spring tournament went to Donald Griffith with 21.62 pounds and a 5.94-poundbig fish. That was good for a $1,600 purse and anadditional$195 for big fish. Second place went to Bo Spence and Tyler Temple with an 18.17-pound bag good for $800. Third was Shawn and Frank Jordan with 14.90 pounds and a $500 check. Fourth was Ben Etheredge Ryan Schroeder, with 14.25 pounds and $300 to add to the AOY winnings. And in fifth was Joey Mann and Jeremy Baltzell weighing in at 13.88 pounds. 

Tournament director Maddie Smith said the final spring tournament “went off without a hitch.” But Schroeder accepted the grand prize alone because Etheredge took off in his boat to go assist an angler that had not checked in and was found to be stranded. 

Smith said now that the spring tournament series is over, it’s time to gear up for the summer series. It will work the same way, with four tournaments launching from Bridgeport Landing at first safe light. The only difference is the weigh in for the summer tournaments will be at 1 p.m. instead of the usual 3 p.m. to try and beat the summer heat.  

The first summer tournament is Saturday May 13. The Bridgeport Tournament Trail Facebook page has all the details.