Co-Angler Title Goes to Salyersville’s Rudd

SOMERSET, Ky. (May 6, 2019) – Boater Michael Morrison of Georgetown, Kentucky, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces, to take top honors at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament on Lake Cumberland. For his efforts, Morrison netted $4,917.

Morrison said he spent his day fishing approximately 15 different pockets mid-lake down toward the Wolf Creek Dam, about an hour from takeoff.

“The largemouth and smallmouth were still spawning,” said Morrison, who notched his first win in FLW competition. “I used a glide bait as a locator bait. Only some of them would get it, so I added a stinger hook on an inch and a half of braided line. It’s just an extra treble hook that hangs down farther in the water column to help get the fish that missed the lure’s original two hooks.

“I did the modification in practice on Friday and it helped my hookup ratio,” continued Morrison. “On Friday, out of 25 bites, I only caught 10 fish. They were only guarding the nest, they weren’t eating. But on Saturday, I was able to catch 12 keepers from 15 or 20 bites – nine smallmouth and three largemouth.”

Morrison said he opted for a 6¼-inch, Threadfin Shad-colored XPS Bass Pro Shops Boss Glide Swimbait.

“I also added a feather on the back hook to get them to target the hooks more rather than the bait,” said Morrison. “For fish that missed it, I followed up with a [Texas-rigged, Get the Net-colored Cabin Creek Bait Company] Express Bug.”

Morrison said he ended up weighing four smallmouth and one largemouth – three from the glide bait and two from the Express Bug.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Michael Morrison, Georgetown, Ky., five bass, 17-3, $4,917

2^nd:         Ryan Davidson, Branchland, W. Va., five bass, 15-14, $2,158

3^rd:          Nick Ratliff, Vine Grove, Ky., five bass, 15-12, $1,407

4^th:          Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 14-14, $1,164

5^th:          Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $783

6^th:          Thomas Coomer, Florence, Ky., five bass, 14-7, $718

7^th:          Ryan Coleman, Utica, Ky., five bass, 14-3, $653

8^th:          Colton Chambers, Elizabethton, Tenn., five bass, 14-1, $588

9^th:          Kris Kordenbrock, Covington, Ky., five bass, 13-15, $522

10^th:        Corey Clifton, Dry Ridge, Ky., five bass, 13-11, $457

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Logan Cherry of Alavaton, Kentucky, caught a 4-pound, 6-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $520.

Jared Rudd of Salyersville, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $2,035 Sunday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Jared Rudd, Salyersville, Ky., five bass, 13-12, $2,035

2^nd:         Cole Sowards, Salt Rock, W. Va., five bass, 12-0, $918

3^rd:          Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 11-3, $612

4^th:          Brenton Clemons, Somerset, Ky., four bass, 10-13, $478

5^th:          Jeremiah Williams, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 10-11, $367

6^th:          Kevin Bishop, Ashland, Ky., five bass, 9-14, $486

7^th:          Taylor Wisniewski, Lexington, Ky., five bass,   9-13, $306

8^th:          Dakota Bell, Monticello, Ky., five bass, 9-11, $275

9^th:          Jamie Karnes, Cave City, Ky., five bass, 8-13, $217

9^th:          James McPherson, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 8-13, $217

9^th:          Lucas Devere, Berea, Ky., five bass, 8-13, $217

Jonathan Sydnor of Canmer, Kentucky, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $235.

The tournament was hosted by the Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission.

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.