SPRING CITY, Tenn. – For the fourth time in five events in the 2022 Bass Pro Tour season, there’s a first-time champion. Ryan Salzman is the General Tire Stage Five Presented by Covercraft champion on Watts Bar Lake after catching 13 bass for 24 pounds, 3 ounces and beating second-place Jacob Wheeler by just 11 ounces. The is Salzman’s first professional-level win since becoming a full-time pro in 2019.
Salzman Generates Bites from TVA Generating Power
The key for Salzman on Thursday, and really his final two days of competition, was camping out near the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Dam. The Alabama pro was there all day during the Championship Round and for the majority of the Knockout Round. Even though the dam was productive for him over his final two days, the spot had been on his radar since his first Qualifying Round.
“I found this spot on the first day and I noticed that there was enough fish to win here on my electronics,” Salzman said. “The first two days I fished here, the fish didn’t school up though. During the Knockout Round, the TVA decided to start generating 35,000-40,000 watts by running water through the dam and it really lit this spot up.”
