By MITCHELL THOMAS

For the Washington Daily News

Dozens of fish were caught, bagged and brought in on a very windy Sunday afternoon at the Havens Gardens boat ramp in Washington for Jeffrey Davis’ Eastern North Carolina Bass Challenge.

Davis, who has been hosting tournaments since 2014, said he usually hosts seven tournaments per year, and his ultimate goal is to provide a professional-style tournament for local anglers.

In a field of 57 teams and more than 100 anglers competing, and a bag limit of five fish per boat, all had the same $1,500 grand prize in mind. Second-place received $800 and third-place $400, with the top seven teams receiving a payout.

The help of a 5 1/2-pound bass propelled winners John Kellett and Adam Baldwin to a bag of  fish weighing nearly 17 pounds, more than a pound heavier than any of their competition.

“Started out on a bank this morning and caught fish early. They bit for 30 minutes, then they shut off,” Baldwin said. “We threw a little bit of everything at them. Came back this way late and caught two bigger ones; threw the little ones out and came back with a 16-pound bag.”

Kellett added that he owned Tunis Landing Bait & Tackle on the Chowan River in Winton.

Anglers took off at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning with fisherman showing up to the boat landing as early as 4:30 a.m. Most competitors said the fish stopped biting after early morning.

“We got on the fish early this morning; they slowed down about 9:30 to 10 o’clock,” said Tommie Chisenhall, a regular participant in the Eastern NC Bass Challenge. “This is our second year fishing in this tournament; fifth or sixth event total. We’ll be at the next one in New Bern, too. It’s closer to home.”

The next event will be on the Neuse River. Boats will enter the water at Lawson’s Creek boat ramp in New Bern on May 19.

The biggest bass of the day award went to Jim Hipkiss, who hauled in a beautiful, largemouth bass weighing in at 5.78 pounds.

“It went really, really good,” Davis said about Sunday’s turnout. “A lot of big fish were weighed in; a lot of good weights came in. Everybody and all the boats came back safely, and that’s what matters the most.”

For more information about future tournaments and how to register, visit www.jeffreydavisfishing.com.