Elmore’s Hays Grabs Co-angler Title

ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (March 11, 2019) – Boater David Gaston of Sylacauga, Alabama, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division opener on Lake Martin presented by Navionics. Gaston took home $6,956 for his efforts.

“I fished shallow brush piles in 2 to 3 feet of water in Madwin and Sandy creeks,” said Gaston, who earned his second career victory on Lake Martin in BFL competition. “I worked areas in both creeks, and hit probably 40 different brush piles. I would pull up and flip them 5 or 6 times, and then move on.”

Gaston said he caught eight or nine keepers throughout the day, using a black and blue-colored D&L Baby Advantage Casting jig with a Strike King Menace Rage Tail Craw of the same color. He also weighed one off of a Delta Red-colored Strike King 1.5 KVD HC Silent square-billed crankbait. He used P-Line 20-pound-test Tactical Fluorocarbon line, which he said ended up being a crucial part of his catch.

“They were really subtle bites. They didn’t thump the bait, they kind of just picked it up and held onto it and the sensitivity of the line helped me feel them.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          David Gaston, Sylacauga, Ala., five bass, 16-15, $4,956 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Marty Giddens, Cropwell, Ala., five bass, 15-0, $1,878

3^rd:          Jimmy Miller, Eclectic, Ala., five bass, 13-7, $1,253

4^th:          Dallas Weldon, Tallassee, Ala., five bass, 13-2, $876

5^th:          Terry Fisher, Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 13-1, $751

6^th:          Steven Ingram, Tallassee, Ala., five bass, 12-11, $689

7^th:          Robert Pelt II, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 12-7, $726

8^th:          Terry Tucker, Gadsden, Ala., five bass, 12-1, $563

9^th:          Ken Walters, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 12-0, $501

10^th:        Christopher Jones, Midfield, Ala., five bass, 11-10, $416

10^th:        Michael Purvis, Canton, Ga., five bass, 11-10, $416

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Dusty Robinson of Eclectic, Alabama, caught a 6-pound, 10-ounce largemouth – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $490.

Robert Hays of Elmore, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and $1,959 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Robert Hays, Elmore, Ala., five bass, 12-4, $1,959

2^nd:         Roman Robinson, Steele, Ala., five bass, 11-15, $929

3^rd:          Michael Ingram, Cropwell, Ala., five bass, 11-13, $619

4^th:          Ty Story, Prattville, Ala., five bass, 11-5, $484

5^th:          Gary Marlowe, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 11-3, $614

6^th:          William Jackson, Sharpsburg, Ga., five bass, 10-15, $341

7^th:          John Bryan, Carrollton, Ga., five bass, 10-13, $310

8^th:          Franklin McCutcheon, Jacksonville, Ala., five bass, 10-8, $279

9^th:          Ray Puckett, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 10-5, $232

9^th:          Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 10-5, $232

Marlowe caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $242.

The tournament was hosted by the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce.

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. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, presented by Mercury. 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.