Waycross’ Bythwood Takes Co-angler Title

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Sept. 17, 2018) – Boater Roger Vinson of Flowery Branch, Georgia, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bulldog Division tournament on Lake Lanier Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 11 ounces. For his win, Vinson earned $6,891.

“I live about 10 minutes from Lake Lanier and have been fishing it for a long time. I have some top-10 finishes in BFL competition, so it’s nice to finally win one,” said Vinson, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “I knew that with the conditions, the fish would be scattered. I fished both deep and shallow. I think most of the field was fishing out deep, but I’d say I fished shallow 30-percent of the time. Changing things up was crucial for my win.

“I fished from the mid-lake area down to the lower end each day,” continued Vinson. “I targeted places like the mouths of creeks and places they would pull up when they are scattered because of the weather. Out deep, I fished humps and points. I targeted more rock on Sunday.”

Vinson said he caught fish on a Pearly White-colored Zoom Super Fluke, a Roboworm Straight Tail Worm on a shaky-head rig, a MegaBass 110 Ito Vision jerkbait and a Pearl White-colored SuperFish Underspin with a Zoom Fluke Jr. of the same color.

“My big fish – a 4-pound, 12-ounce spotted bass – came Sunday morning about 10:30 (a.m.) around the mouth of Two Mile Creek,” said Vinson. “I caught it on a homemade jig with a green pumpkin-colored (Zoom) Creepy Crawler trailer. I felt like I needed 17 pounds (after Saturday) to win and it was a game-changer.”

Vinson said he caught 19 keepers throughout the weekend and weighed all spotted bass. He said that bass both deep and shallow liked the jerkbait best on Saturday, and that on Sunday it was more about the jig and the SuperFish Underspin.

“I used a Kistler rod and (InvizX Seaguar) fluorocarbon line combo which helped me feel when they grabbed onto the bait,” said Vinson. “They didn’t feel like normal bites, but the sensitivity of that combo helped me feel them.”

Vinson noted that his 19-year-old son, Peyton, finished seventh on the co-angler side.

“I think I’m more proud of him and his finish than my own,” said Vinson.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:           Roger Vinson, Flowery Branch, Ga., 10 bass, 28-11, $6,891

2^nd:         Rob Jordan, Flowery Branch, Ga., 10 bass, 25-15, $3,445

3^rd:          Guy Jordan, Gainesville, Ga., 10 bass, 24-10, $2,229

4^th:          Brad Wiley, Alto, Ga., eight bass, 24-6, $1,561

5^th:          J.R. McCay, Robertstown, Ga., 10 bass, 24-2, $1,338

6^th:          Jeremy Eaton, Dahlonega, Ga., 10 bass, 22-5, $1,227

7^th:          Undre Montgomery, Lawrenceville, Ga., 10 bass, 22-2, $1,115

8^th:          Terry Adams, Mansfield, Ga., 10 bass, 21-10, $1,004

9^th:          Kip Carter, Mansfield, Ga., 10 bass, 20-12, $892

10^th:        LaMontie Walters, Warner Robins, Ga., 10 bass, 19-7, $781

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Eric Aldrich of Cumming, Georgia, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $960.

Justin Bythwood of Waycross, Georgia, caught a two-day total of seven bass weighing 16 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $3,287.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:           Justin Bythwood, Waycross, Ga., seven bass, 16-10, $3,287

2^nd:         Glenn Martin, Gainesville, Ga., eight bass, 14-9, $1,644

3^rd:          Benjie Winkler, Cleveland, Ga., seven bass, 13-6, $1,096

4^th:          March Glenn, Decatur, Ga., six bass, 12-10, $867

5^th:          Spencer Sato, Warner Robins, Ga., six bass, 10-14, $657

6^th:          Ben Smith, Lula, Ga., five bass, 10-12, $653

7^th:          Peyton Vinson, Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 10-3, $548

8^th:          Andrew Fisher, Alexandria, Ala., six bass, 9-14, $493

9^th:          Wayne Hancock, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 9-11, $438

10^th:        Devereaux Adams, Powder Springs, Ga., five bass, 9-9, $384

Jack Fowler of Coleman, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $465.

The 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bulldog Division finale on Lake Lanier was hosted by the Gainesville Convention & Visitors 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. 11-13 BFL Regional Championship on the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida. 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 2018 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 take place May 30-June 1 on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland.

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, YouTube and Snapchat.