Tennessee’s Armstrong tops Co-angler Division

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (April 10, 2017) – Boater Dennis Barnes of Boaz, Alabama, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Choo Choo Division event on Lake Guntersville presented by Navionics. Barnes took home $6,046 for his victory.

According to post-tournament reports, Barnes caught his limit fishing grass in the mid-lake area. He threw a Rat-L-Trap and a swimbait, with the majority of his fish coming from depths of 6 to 8 feet. It was Barnes’ fourth career victory in BFL competition.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:           Dennis Barnes, Boaz, Ala., five bass, 22-1, $4,046 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:          Derek Remitz, Grant, Ala., five bass, 21-15, $2,578

3^rd:          Wayne Christopher, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 20-12, $1,348

4^th:           Daniel Whitaker, Phil Campbell, Ala., five bass, 20-6, $944

5^th:           Tyler Stewart, Killen, Ala.., five bass, 19-11, $809

6^th:           Jerry Perkins, Cullman, Ala.., five bass, 19-10, $742

7^th:           Casey Martin, New Hope, Ala., five bass, 19-2, $974

8^th:           Josh Butler, Athens, Ala., five bass, 18-13, $807

9^th:           Scott Towry, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 17-10, $639

10^th:        Clayton Joyce, Chapel Hill, Tenn., five bass, 17-4, $472

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Remitz caught a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass, which was the heaviest of the tournament in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $555.

Jerry Armstrong of Shelbyville, Tennessee, weighed in five bass totaling 17 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $2,300.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:           Jerry Armstrong, Shelbyville, Tenn., five bass, 17-14, $2,300

2^nd:          Rich Frey, Owens Cross Roads, Ala., five bass, 16-11, $1,011

3^rd:          Jacob Coil, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 16-4, $774

4^th:           Jody Evans, Toney, Ala., five bass, 14-5, $472

5^th:           Tony Hill, Chatsworth, Ga., five bass, 12-8, $455

6^th:           Keith Chadwell, Decatur, Ala., five bass, 12-7, $371

7^th:           Thomas Helton, Charleston, Tenn., five bass, 12-5, $337

8^th:           Heath Frizzell, Dunlap, Tenn., five bass, 11-14, $303

9^th:           Chad Biddle, Shelbyville, Ky., five bass, 11-1, $270

10^th:        Ray Elmore, Calhoun, Ga., five bass, 10-15, $236

Armstrong also weighed a 7-pound, 4-ounce bass which earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $277.

The T-H Marine BFL at Lake Guntersville presented by Navionics was hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

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 Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama. 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.