Co-Angler Title Goes to Kingsport’s Blakely

BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 1, 2019) – Boater Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tennessee, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces, to win Saturday’s T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division tournament on South Holston Reservoir. Powers earned $3,583 for his victory.

Powers spent his day fishing wind-blown points mid-lake, not too far from takeoff. He said the bite was tough, and that he caught just six keepers all day. He weighed in two largemouth and two spotted bass from a spinnerbait and a 3-pound smallmouth on a crankbait.

“I targeted blowdowns on the points with the spinnerbait, and when the wind quit blowing I switched to a flat-sided crankbait. It was the same deal [with the crankbait] – rocky, wind-blown points – but I stayed away from the trees,” said Powers, who earned his fifth win in FLW competition. “The crankbait has a tight wiggle and when they quit biting, I can usually catch a few on it.

Powers said his spinnerbait was a ½-ounce, custom-made lure with Willow Leaf and Colorado blades and a Glimmer Blue skirt, with a Zoom Split Tail trailer of the same color. His crankbait was a Root Beer-colored CP Custom Baits Series 3 balsa crankbait. He said he primarily worked in 6 to 10 feet of water.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Craig Powers, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 17-9, $3,583

2^nd:         Kevin Powers, Unicoi, Tenn., five bass, 13-15, $1,764

3^rd:          Jonathan Bowling , Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 13-8, $1,108

4^th:          Steve Coleman, Clayton, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $707

5^th:          Nathan Hipps, Canton, N.C., five bass, 11-7, $580

5^th:          Derrick Blake, Rockwood, Tenn., two bass, 11-7, $580

7^th:          Matt Linton, Kingston, Tenn., four bass, 10-6, $505

8^th:          Doug Burke, Castlewood, Va., four bass, 10-0, $454

9^th:          Tavin Napier, Rockwood, Tenn., three bass, 9-9, $404

10^th:        Wayne Coppage, Jonesboro, Tenn., four bass, 9-1, $353

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Powers also caught a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $355.

David Blakely of Kingsport, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $1,714 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          David Blakely, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 11-10, $1,714

2^nd:         Mark Dillard, Bluff City, Tenn., four bass, 11-7, $807

3^rd:          Clint Dyer, Jonesborough, Tenn., four bass, 10-10, $505

4^th:          Joey Boling, Walland, Tenn., three bass, 9-0, $353

5^th:          Brian Miller, Calhoun, Ga., three bass, 8-0, $303

6^th:          Audie Aultman, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 7-5, $278

7^th:          Bradley Watts, Afton, Tenn., four bass, 7-3, $252

8^th:          Jim Neece Sr., Bristol, Va., three bass, 6-15, $214

8^th:          Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., two bass, 6-15, $364

10^th:        Robert Barch Jr., Nelsonville, Ohio, two bass, 6-13, $177

Curtis Crooke of Washburn, Tennessee, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $177.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina, presented by Navionics. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.