ALABAMA’S WEIDLER WINS COSTA FLW SERIES SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION FINALE ON LAKE CHICKAMAUGA

Bessemer Angler Bests 196-boat Field to Earn First Career Victory, $48,200

DAYTON, Tenn. (May 6, 2017) – Alabama angler William Weidler of Bessemer, brought a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces to the scale Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division finale on Lake Chickamauga presented by Lowrance. Weidler’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 45 pounds, 2 ounces, was enough to earn him the win by a 1-pound, 7-ounce margin and a check for $48,200.

Normally a three-day event, the tournament was shortened to two days of competition after Thursday, Day One, was canceled due to strong winds and dangerous conditions. The tournament resumed Friday and Saturday with the full field fishing each day. The pro and co-angler winners were determined by the cumulative weight of two days of competition instead of three.

“I think I’m still in shock,” said Weidler, who was fishing in just his third career Costa FLW Series event. “I wasn’t even entered in this tournament and I just decided to get in on Tuesday, this week. To come up here and get the win… I am blown away.”

Weidler said that he made the decision to enter the tournament after a strong 6th place finish in the B.A.S.S. Open event just one week prior.

“After my finish last week, I figured I might just have a chance. I’m a shallow-water fisherman – I caught all of my fish this week swimming a jig in 18 inches of water or less,” Weidler said. “I caught around 35 keepers on Friday and around 30 today. I was fishing transition areas, spawning bays and bluegill beds.”

Weidler said that his most productive area this week was just five minutes from the launch ramp – near the lower end of the island at the mouth of the Hiwassee River. He said that every fish that he caught came on the jig, a black and blue-colored ½-ounce Dirty Jigs No-Jack Swim Jig with an H&H Lures Swamp Frog.

“The frog comes black with white feet, but I dye the feet blue to match the black and blue of the swimjig,” Weidler said.

“The key for me this week was just having patience,” Weidler went on to say. “Around 1 (p.m.) today I didn’t have much weight in the livewell and I started hearing the little voices in my head. But the sun came out and it warmed up, and then some clouds moved in and it got a little overcast. I just knew that they were going to start biting, and they did. I was fishing a bluegill bed and I ended up culling everything in my livewell. It was a magical spot.”

The top 10 pros on Lake Chickamauga were:

1st: William Weidler, Bessemer, Ala., 10 bass, 45-2, $48,200

2nd: Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 43-11, $19,500

3rd: Brian Merriman, Falkville, Ala., 10 bass, 43-4, $14,000

4th: Taylor Ashley, Warrior, Ala., 10 bass, 42-12, $12,200

5th: Brent Butler, Vonore, Tenn., 10 bass, 41-1, $11,000

6th: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., 10 bass, 40-14, $9,000

7th: Joe Thompson, Clayton, Ga., 10 bass, 40-11, $8,100

8th: Wes Logan, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 40-2, $6,800

9th: Hensley Powell, Whitwell, Tenn., 10 bass, 39-0, $5,800

10th: Anthony Ford, New Smyrna, Fla., 10 bass, 38-2, $4,400

A complete list of results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Mike Miller of Trinity, North Carolina, caught a bass weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces Friday – the biggest of the tournament in the Pro Division. For his catch, Miller earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $300.

Also decided Saturday, pro Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Georgia wrapped up the Costa FLW Series Strike King Angler of the Year Title in the Southeastern Division. With finishes of 8th place at Lake Okeechobee, 1st place at Lake Seminole and a 36th place showing at Lake Chickamauga, Gross accumulated a total of 708 points to take home the title and the $2,000 prize package.

Chase Whisenhunt of Trussville, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and a new Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard motor. Whisenhunt earned his win with a two-day total of eight bass weighing 28 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Chickamauga were:

1st: Chase Whisenhunt, Trussville, Ala., eight bass, 28-7, $28,100

2nd: James Wegmann, Fruitland Park, Fla., eight bass, 27-8, $6,050

3rd: James Stowers, Narrows, Va., 10 bass, 26-6, $4,800

4th: Mark Guhne, Hixson, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-10, $3,900

5th: Nick Cupps, Chattanooga, Tenn., nine bass, 25-1, $3,400

6th: Craig Rozema, Simpsonville, S.C., eight bass, 24-13, $2,900

7th: Bruce Griffin, Jasper, Ala., 10 bass, 24-11, $2,400

8th: Zac Smith, Cleveland, Ala., seven bass, 24-9, $1,950

9th: Eddie Walker, Pinson, Ala., eight bass, 24-1, $1,580

10th: Ray Puckett, Wetumpka, Ala., six bass, 23-14, $1,530

Puckett caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Saturday, a massive largemouth weighing 10 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $200.

Co-angler Craig Rozema of Simpsonville, South Carolina won the Costa FLW Series Strike King Co-angler of the Year Title in the Southeastern Division. With finishes of 42nd place at Lake Okeechobee, 2nd place at Lake Seminole and a 6th place finish at Lake Chickamauga, Rozema accumulated a total of 703 points to take home the title and the $800 prize package.

The Costa FLW Series on Lake Chickamauga was hosted by the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council. It was the third and final regular-season Southeastern Division tournament of 2017. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be a Western Division event, held May 11-13, on the California Delta in Bethel Island, California. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

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by AnglersChannel

Ford drops 26-14 Limit to Lead Weather Shortened FLW Costa Event on Chickamauga

May 5, 2017  by Richard Simms

Anthony Ford from New Smyrna, Fla., came to the weigh-in stand with the biggest bag of fish Friday in the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division finale presented by Lowrance on Lake Chickamauga. Ford's limit of five bass weighed 26 pounds, 14 ounces, besting second-place angler Mike Miller from Trinity, N.C., who had 25 pounds even.

Friday was day one of competition, although it was supposed to be day two. Thursday fishing was canceled due to predicted high winds.

Morning story

Midday update

Top five patterns 

Complete results

Ford admitted he was tired and a little stressed when he came off the weigh-in stand.

"I'm beat up a little bit, yeah," he says. "Just nervous from catching big fish and trying to get them back here."

A stiff south wind against a strong current created some hefty swells on the main channel of Lake Chickamauga, creating challenges for the offshore anglers.

Ford says he was concentrating in 10 to 12 feet of water, but he’s holding other details of his pattern close to the vest for Saturday's final day of competition.

With temperatures in the 50s, drizzling rain and stiff wind, Ford did say he thinks the weather helped his bite.

"I had not caught them that good in practice, so it must have helped," Ford says. "I only caught one short and didn't lose any or miss any fish I know of."

This week is Ford's first time on Lake Chickamauga, and he’s enjoying the experience.

"I've caught them shallow and deep on this trip," he says. "Of course, I fish Okeechobee a lot, so if you get over 8 feet it's deep for me."

This tournament is the final regular-season event of 2017 scheduled in the Southeastern Division. Pros are competing for a top award of up to $50,000 in cash and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-hp Evinrude outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-hp Evinrude outboard and an additional $1,250 if Ranger Cup qualified. The top 40 pros and co-anglers in the final point standings in each U.S. division advance to the 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship, provided they fished all three qualifiers in a division.

Currently, Buddy Gross from Chickamauga, Ga., leads the standings for the Strike King Angler of the Year in the Southeastern Division with 493 points. Gross was in eighth place following Friday's weigh-in, so he should be able to remain in contention for AOY. However, Randy Haynes, currently with 471 points, came in fourth place Friday and could be challenging Gross depending on Saturday.

A total of 394 anglers – boaters and co-anglers – are registered in the Lake Chickamauga event.

With one day of the event cancelled there will not be a cut to the top 10 for the final day. The full field will fish on Saturday. With other good-sized Saturday tournaments on Lake Chickamauga, some anglers are concerned about crowds and competition.

Boats will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St. in Dayton, beginning at 6:45 a.m. ET. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. The event is hosted by the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.

 

Top 10 Pros

1. Anthony Ford – New Smyrna, Fla. – 26-14 (5)

2. Mike Miller – Trinity, N.C. – 25-0 (5)

3. Chad Prough – Chipley, Fla. – 23-13 (5)

4. Randy Haynes – Counce, Tenn. – 23-12 (5)

5. Andy Morgan – Dayton, Tenn. – 23-7 (5)

6. William Weidler – Bessemer, Ala. – 22-15 (5)

7. Clay Batson – Fernandina Beach, Fla. – 22-14 (5)

8. Buddy Gross – Chickamauga, Ga. – 22-11 (5)

9. Jared McMillan – Belle Glade, Fla. – 22-10 (5)

10. Barry Wilson – Birmingham, Ala. – 22-10 (5)

Complete results

 

Whisenhunt on Top Among Co-anglers

Chase Whisenhunt from Trussville, Ala., came in first on the co-angler side with 21 pounds, 14 ounces.

Whisenhunt gave much of the credit to his boater, pro angler Milo Salgado.

"We were offshore just casting points, with jigs mostly. My boater was awesome," says Whisenhunt. "He taught me a lot of stuff."

Salgado, from Artemus, Ky., is in 37th place on the pro side. He’s happy for Whisenhunt and believes the wind actually helped his co-angler on Friday.

"We threw the same [lure], but I was trying not to hit the bank with the boat. I tried to stay a little far from the bank, so he was actually in position to make better casts," says Salgado.

Whisenhunt has fished only five FLW events and has never made his way to the winner's circle.

"I'm pretty nervous, but I'm just going to go out there and fish [on Saturday]," he says. "If it happens it happens, and if not it’s just not that time."

 

Top 10 Co-anglers

1. Chase Whisenhunt – Trussville, Ala. – 21-14 (5)

2. Jason Sturgill – Pennington Gap, Va. – 19-3 (5)

3. Samuel Lemons – Vonore, Tenn. – 18-15 (5)

4. James Wegmann – Fruitland Park, Fla. – 18-13 (5)

5. Scott Kirsch – Edgewater, Fla. – 17-6 (5)

6. Alan Woodford – Winslow, Ind. – 16-9 (5)

7. Nick Cupps – Chattanooga, Tenn. – 16-1 (5)

8. Tony Prince – Pulaski, Tenn. – 15-12 (5)

9. Zac Smith – Cleveland, Ala. – 15-9 (3)

10. Randy Miller – Athens, Ala. – 15-2 (3)

Complete results

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by AnglersChannel

SOUTH FLORENCE HIGH SCHOOL WINS TBF HIGH SCHOOL FISHING SOUTH CAROLINA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP AT LAKE MURRAY

PROSPERITY, S.C. (May 3, 2017) – The South Florence High School duo of Tommy Floyd of Coward, South Carolina, and James Gibbons of Timmonsville, South Carolina, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the 2017 TBF High School Fishing South Carolina State Championship tournament on Lake Murray in Prosperity, South Carolina. The win advanced the team to the 2017 High School Fishing National championship, held June 27-July 1 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.

A field of 53 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Dreher Island State Park in Prosperity. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.

The top five teams on Lake Murray that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship were:

1st:       South Florence High School – Tommy Floyd, Coward, S.C., and James Gibbons, Timmonsville, S.C., (five bass, 19-3)

2nd:     Union County High School – Hunter Enlow, Union, S.C., and Creed Fowler, Jonesville, S.C., (five bass, 14-15)

3rd:      Woodruff High School – Nick Collier and Austin Lanford, both of Woodruff, S.C., (five bass, 12-11)

4th:      North Augusta High School – Kyler McKie and Michael Burch, both of North Augusta, S.C., (three bass, 11-12)

5th:      Woodruff High School – Justin Greene and Caleb Ownby, both of Woodruff, S.C., (five bass, 11-11)

Rounding out the top 10 teams were:

5th:      Spring Hill High School – Grant Tomlin, Chapin, S.C., and Wes Grindstaff, Irmo, S.C., (three bass, 10-14)

5th:      Woodruff High School – Cole Gore, Enoree, S.C., and Clayton Caldwell, Woodruff, S.C., (five bass, 10-12)

5th:      Gilbert High School – J.T. Vining and Tucker Veronee, both of Gilbert, S.C., (four bass, 10-5)

9th:      South Florence High School – Cole Drummond, Effingham, S.C., and Piercen Lynch, Timmonsville, S.C., (four bass, 9-1)

10th:    Woodmont High School, Piedmont, S.C. – Austin Davis and Auston Bennett, (five bass, 7-13)

Complete results from the event have been posted at HighSchoolFishing.org.

Photos from the event can be found at the TBF High School Fishing Facebook page at Facebook.com/hsfishing.

The 2017 TBF High School Fishing South Carolina State Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12, open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF) affiliated high school club in the state of Florida. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest high school bass tournament, the 2017 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2016 World Finals more than $60,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.

Full schedules and the latest announcements are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and FLWFishing.com.

About FLW

FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

 About The Bass Federation

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization there is. TBF, our affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 45 years. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing program in 2008 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.

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by AnglersChannel

COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF BALTIMORE COUNTY WINS YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING NORTHERN CONFERENCE OPENER ON SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE

BEDFORD, Va. (May 1, 2017) – The Community College of Baltimore County duo of Michael Duarte and Matthew Iman, both of Baltimore, Maryland, won the YETI FLW College Fishing Northern Conference opener on Smith Mountain Lake Saturday after weighing a five bass-limit totaling 17 pounds, 13 ounces. The win earned their club a $2,000 scholarship and advanced the team to the 2018 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

 

s“A win like this means a lot for our club,” said Iman, a sophomore majoring in nursing. “I think it will help us get the word out, and maybe even get more people to be involved. Michael (Duarte) and I just love to fish. We make a great team.”

Iman said the two started off the event by catching their biggest fish – a 6½-pounder – with a topwater bait off of a secondary point on the bend of a pocket. Around 10:30 a.m., they made their way up the Roanoke River.

“We stumbled upon some bedding fish when we pulled into one of our areas way up the Roanoke,” said Duarte, a freshman majoring in business and marketing. “The first one I caught was suspended under a dock. When they suspend under docks back home, that tells me they’re getting ready to pull up or are already spawning. We went along the shoreline and saw more fish spawning between the docks. They were stacked in there. We worked along a 100- to 200-yard stretch until 1 p.m., caught a limit, and culled once.”

Duarte said they used a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko to catch their fish, and rotated in a drop-shot rig with a Strike King Dream Shot when they wanted to place bait right on the spawning bed.

“The biggest key was hiding behind docks so the bass couldn’t see us,” said Duarte. “We would pull up, and if we didn’t get a certain bass to bite, we’d leave and come back to it after 15 minutes.”

The top 10 teams that advanced to the 2018 College Fishing National Championship are:

1^st:          Community College Baltimore County – Michael Duarte and Matthew Iman, both of Baltimore, Md., five bass, 17-13, $2,000

2^nd:         Liberty University – Brian Travers, West Jefferson, N.C., and Caleb Unger, Fry Fork, Va., five bass, 17-5, $1,000

3^rd:          Adrian College – Jarrett Martin and Zachary Graham, both of Gallipolis, Ohio, five bass, 16-5, $900

4^th:          The Apprentice School – Hunter Atkins, Carrsville, Va., and Kitt Moger, Suffolk, Va., five bass, 15-14, $500

5^th:          Adrian College – Caleb Taylor, Zionsville, Ind., and Nickolas Marsh, Commerce Township, Mich., five bass, 14-15, $700

6^th:          Schoolcraft College – Clayton Hatton, South Lyon, Mich., and Anthony Gilmore, Livonia, Mich., five bass, 14-14

7^th:          West Virginia University – Nolan Minor, Charlottesville, Va., and Casey Lanier, Sanford, N.C., five bass, 14-12

8^th:          Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Elliott Roberson, Claudville, Va., and Ross Adams, Stuart, Va. five bass, 14-10

9^th:          Liberty University – Landon Riggleman, Lynchburg, Va., and Ethan Pitts, Gibsonia, Pa., five bass, 14-10

10^th:        Radford University – Zack Lemaster, Bedford, Va., and Matthew Cooley, Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 14-8

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

This YETI FLW College Fishing Northern Conference opener at Smith Mountain Lake was the first regular-season qualifying tournament of 2017 and was hosted by Visit Bedford. The next event for Northern Conference anglers is an event scheduled for July 22 on Chautauqua Lake in Chautauqua, New York.

YETI FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments, along with an additional qualifier for every 10 teams over 100 that compete, along with the top 20 teams from the annual YETI FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2018 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a college fishing club that is recognized by their school.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing. Visit FLWFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.

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by AnglersChannel

FLW WILL FISH FOR KIDS CHARITY TOURNAMENT CROSSES $1 MILLION DONATION MARK TO ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Honorary Chairperson FLW Tour pro James Watson Leads Charge To Raise More Than $60,000 in 2017 Event

Link to photo gallery from Event

ROGERS, Ark. (May 2, 2017) – Every year the FLW Tour makes an annual trek to northwest Arkansas to visit Beaver Lake. However, the action doesn’t stop after the tournament is finished. The FLW Will Fish for Kids (WFFK) Bill Kerr Memorial Charity Tournament Lake, presented by Quaker State, took place on Beaver Lake Monday following the conclusion of the Beaver Lake Tour stop.

Once the final count had been tallied, the 2017 event raised a total of $60,703 for the Dental Clinic at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Since 2005, WWFK has raised a grand total of $1,001,297 for the clinic.

“This money is going directly to our dental unit at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock,” said Elizabeth Sullivan, the Arkansas Children’s Hospital senior development officer, annual gifts. “For the pros to stick around a few extra days to help raise money for our community – it’s just special and a really great event. Everyone has so much fun and it’s for such a great cause. We’re truly excited and thankful for FLW and Walmart for this event.”

FLW Tour pro James Watson of Lampe, Missouri, was the WFFK honorary chairperson this year. Entry fees paid by pro contestants and Walmart employees, as well as corporate boat sponsorships, were collected prior to the tournament. That money was combined with funds raised at Sunday night’s banquet and silent auction and the check for more than $60,000 was delivered on-stage to Sullivan.

The fishing tournament was won by FLW Tour pro Scott Martin and David Hunter. The duo had a fantastic day on Beaver Lake, catching a five-bass limit that weighed 14 pounds, 14 ounces – larger than any limit that crossed the scale Sunday during the final day of the FLW Tour event. Though the charity tournament was not nearly as strenuous or stressful as the FLW Tour event, catching a solid limit on a muddy Beaver Lake was still quite a feat.

“We had a lot of fun today, but at the end of the day this is all for a really great cause,” said Martin, the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup champion and 2015 FLW Angler of the Year. “My hat is off to FLW and Walmart for all of the money that they raise for the Children’s Hospital. It is an honor to be a part of this. My partner David is a great fisherman and I hope we get to do this again.”

The top 10 teams finished the tournament:

1st: Scott Martin and David Hunter, five bass, 14-14, $3,000

2nd: Jeremy Thomas, five bass, 13-12, $2,000

3rd: Old Spice pro Greg Bohannan and Jason Adams, five bass, 13-7, $500

3rd: Jim Moynagh and Milton Polk, five bass, 13-7, $500

5th: Yamamoto Baits pro Larry Nixon and Jeff George, five bass, 12-14

6th: General Tire pro Mark Rose and Jim Enneking, five bass, 12-12

7th: Jason Sanders and Brian Gripe, four bass, 12-6

8th: Shane Michele and Bobby Dennis, five bass, 11-15

8th: Keith Daffron and Ronnie Davidson, five bass, 11-15

10th: Ben Fulcher and Don Herbert, five bass, 11-14

A complete list of results can be found at WillFishForKids.com.

The Will Fish for Kids charity auction and tournament was started in 1992. In 2015, the tournament was renamed to the Will Fish for Kids - Bill Kerr Memorial Charity Tournament in memory of the late Bill Kerr.

Kerr lived most of his life in Bentonville and worked for Walmart Stores Inc. for over 25 years. For the last several years Kerr had been with Outdoor Cap, Inc. He also served on the board of Igloo Corporation. Bill enjoyed fishing and was a constant and enthusiastic supporter of the Will Fish for Kids tournament and Arkansas Children's Hospital.

All the money donated through this event goes to the Dental Clinic at the Arkansas Children's Hospital. Dental problems are the number one reason for children missing school and if a child has dental problems, it has a direct effect on their overall health.

The Dental Clinic at the Arkansas Children's Hospital also provides pediatric dental care for children with significant medical and/or developmental problems.

.For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. To learn more about the Dental Clinic at the Arkansas Children's Hospital visit ARChildrens.org.

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by AnglersChannel

Jones Wins T-H Marine BFL on Lake Gaston with over 16 pounds!

 

Davis Claims Co-angler Title

BRACEY, Va. (May 1, 2017) – Raymond Jones III of Statesville, North Carolina, took top honors at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division tournament on Lake Gaston Saturday after bringing a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces to the scale. For his win, Jones pocketed $7,473.

 

“The Piedmont Division is really strong so I’m very fortunate to come out with a win,” said Jones, who earned his first career-victory in BFL competition. “In practice I was able to find some water that wasn’t clear, but wasn’t completely muddied up either. It was mid-lake, and that’s where I ended up spending my day."

Jones said he lost three solid bass in the morning, but was able to grind out a limit by 10 a.m.

“I had a milk run that we followed until lunchtime,” said Jones. “We’d catch them in that mid-lake stained water and then leave it alone to replenish. I had plenty of bites the rest of the day, but only caught eight keepers.”

Jones said he used a homemade spinnerbait and two soft-plastics to catch his fish.

“The spinnerbait was the reaction bait,” said Jones. “I covered a lot of water with it, and then worked them over with the soft-plastics. It was a one-two punch with the soft-plastics. Sometimes I had to rotate body-style, and their colors, to trigger bites.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Raymond Jones III, Statesville, N.C., five bass, 16-11, $5,473 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         James Blankenship, Siler City, N.C., five bass, 16-10, $2,936

3^rd:          Jeffrey Thomas, Broadway, N.C., five bass, 16-8, $1,756

4^th:          Jerry Davis, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-5, $1,230

5^th:          Ryan Harrell, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 15-0, $1,155

6^th:          Burley Langford, South Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 14-12, $967

7^th:          Chris Daves, Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 14-4, $879

8^th:          Ryan Powroznik, Prince George, Va., five bass, 14-3, $791

9^th:          Cavin Young, Prince George, Va., five bass, 14-2, $703

10^th:        Josh Wagy, Dewitt, Va., five bass, 13-15, $584

10^th:        Kenny Beale Jr., Blairs, Va., five bass, 13-15, $584

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

George Lambeth of Thomasville, North Carolina, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $830.

Michael Davis of New London, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $2,836 Saturday after bringing a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 7 ounces to the weigh-in stage.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Michael Davis, New London, N.C., five bass, 16-7, $2,836

2^nd:         David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 13-13, $1,318

3^rd:          Donald Talbard, Ringgold, Va., four bass, 9-12, $879

4^th:          Arthur Clark, Cary, N.C., three bass, 9-2, $665

5^th:          Hank Cooke, Emporia, Va., three bass, 9-1, $527

6^th:          Stephen Kocell, Waxhaw, N.C., five bass, 8-14, $483

7^th:          Brian Transon, Sherrills Ford, N.C., four bass, 8-9, $439

8^th:          Lewis Brown, Asheboro, N.C., three bass, 8-7, $395

9^th:          Larry Freeman Jr., La Crosse, Va., three bass, 7-10, $352

10^th:        Chris Teague, Lincolnton, N.C., three bass, 7-8, $308

Hubert Roman of Lexington, North Carolina, caught the biggest bass among Co-angler Division anglers, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $415.

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. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the James River in Williamsburg, Virginia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2017 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. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the 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.

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by AnglersChannel

EAST ROWAN HIGH SCHOOL WINS FLW HIGH SCHOOL FISHING NORTH CAROLINA OPEN AT HIGH ROCK LAKE

SALISBURY, N.C. (May 1, 2017) – The East Rowan High School duo of Hunter Harwood of Gold Hill, North Carolina, and Paiton File of Salisbury, North Carolina, brought three bass to the scale Saturday weighing 13 pounds even to win the 2017 FLW High School Fishing North Carolina Open tournament on High Rock Lake. The win advanced the team to the 2017 High School Fishing National championship, held June 27-July 1 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.

 

According to post-tournament reports, the duo caught their fish targeting muddy water in coves with a spinnerbait.

A field of 18 teams competed in the tough, no-entry fee, tournament which launched from Tamarac Marina and Campground in Salisbury. Nine of the 18 teams competing managed to bring a keeper bass to the scale. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.

The top team on High Rock Lake that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship was:

1st:       East Rowan High School, Salisbury, N.C. – Hunter Harwood, Gold Hill, N.C., and Paiton File, Salisbury, N.C., (three bass, 13-0)

The other teams that brought fish to the scale were:

2nd:     East Rowan High School, Salisbury, N.C. – Colton Carico and Lucas Hedrick, both of Salisbury, N.C., (three bass, 12-2)

3rd:      Bandys High School, Catawba, N.C. – Jacob Smith, Newton, N.C., and Logan Anderson, Catawba, N.C., (three bass, 7-3)

4th:      West Rowan High School, Mount Ulla, N.C. – Lane Adkins, Cleveland, N.C., and Zeb Burns, Salisbury, N.C., (two bass, 6-11)

5th:      Gilmer High School, Ellijay, Ga. – Isaac Colwell and Grant Ledford, both of Ellijay, Ga., (two bass, 5-13)

6th:      West Rowan High School, Mount Ulla, N.C. – Austin Wike, China Grove, N.C., and Alex Williams, Cleveland, N.C., (two bass, 5-8)

7th:      Sheets Memorial Christian School, Lexington, N.C. – Trevor Benfield, Archdale, N.C., and Austin Martinez, Lexington, N.C., (three bass, 5-2)

8th:      East Rowan High School, Salisbury, N.C. – Teddy Drew, Gold Hill, N.C., and Cole Mabry, Richfield, N.C., (one bass, 3-13)

9th:      Bunker Hill High School, Claremont, N.C. – Dylan Lamm and Garrett Poovey, both of Claremont, N.C., (one bass, 2-2)

Complete results from the event and photos of the top five teams can be found at FLWFishing.com.

The 2017 FLW High School Fishing North Carolina Open was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12, open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF) affiliated high school club in the United States. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest high school bass tournament, the 2017 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2016 World Finals more than $60,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.

Full schedules and the latest announcements are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and FLWFishing.com.

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by AnglersChannel