VILLA HILLS’ GERREIN WINS FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE MOUNTAIN DIVISION EVENT ON BARREN RIVER PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

Vice wins co-angler title

SCOTTSVILLE, Ky. (June 20, 2016) – Chris Gerrein of Villa Hills, Kentucky, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River presented by Navionics. For his victory, Gerrein took home $7,925.

Gerrein said he spent his day fishing one area – a channel swing in 6 to 8 feet of water near Browns Ford ramp.

“The area was the perfect scenario,” said Gerrein, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “It was no larger than my boat and had a little bit of grass and a bunch of rock. I kept casting into it and was able to put something together.

“I used a Strike King Pro Model 5XD Crankbait and racked up about 19 pounds by noon,” Gerrein continued. “I figured I had enough to win, but I wanted to keep hammering for the big ones.”

Gerrein said he switched to a Strike King KVD 8.0 Magnum Square-Billed Crankbait to finish out the event.

“On my third cast with the Magnum I caught a 7-pounder which turned out to be the biggest fish in the tournament,” said Gerrein. “I’d never used it before, but ended up culling everything I had. After all was said and done, I probably culled 15 times.

The Kentucky angler said his key to victory was finding the big gizzard shad that bass were feeding on.

“Everyone was flipping, but I was out there imitating the shad I found in practice,” said Gerrein. “That’s what pushed me to the top.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Chris Gerrein, Villa Hills, Ky., five bass, 23-2, $5,925 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2nd:         Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 17-13, $2,157

3rd:          Jason Cooper, Shelbyville, Tenn., five bass, 15-0, $1,439

4th:          Marshall Deakins, Dunlap, Tenn., five bass, 14-5, $1,307

5th:          Brett Graham, Cold Spring, Ky., five bass, 13-6, $863

6th:          Barry Strunk, Science Hill, Ky., five bass, 12-14, $791

7th:          Ryan Davidson, Branchland, W. Va., five bass, 12-13, $719

8th:          Michael Emberton, Tompkinsville, Ky., five bass, 12-7, $611

8th:          Mark Pierce, Cadiz, Ky., four bass, 12-7, $611

10th         Todd Yocum, Harrodsburg, Ky., five bass, 12-6, $503

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Gerrein also caught a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $610.

John Vice of Owingsville, Kentucky, weighed in five bass totaling 17 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,462.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          John Vice, Owingsville, Ky., five bass, 17-10, $2,462

2nd:         Dustin Jones, Stanford, Ky., five bass, 13-1, $1,079

3rd:          Don Carmack, Middlesboro, Ky., three bass, 10-12, $717

4th:          Tony Baber, Dayton, Ohio, five bass, 10-6, $503

5th:          Jason Stigall, Tateville, Ky., five bass, 10-3, $431

6th:          Mike Morrison, Prestonsburg, Ky., three bass, 9-10, $396

7th:          Timothy Ernst, Mount Eden, Ky., four bass, 7-9, $360

8th:          Justin Sensabaugh, Byrdstown, Tenn., three bass, 6-15, $324

9th:          Roger Crain, Louisville, Ky., two bass, 6-14, $288

10th:        Jordan Pyles, Somerset, Ky., three bass, 6-11, $252

Vice also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $305.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.