Georgia’s Walden Claims Co-angler Title

EUFAULA, Ala. (May 1, 2017) – Josh Bragg of Jacksonville, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division tournament presented by Navionics on Lake Eufaula. Bragg pocketed $4,266 for his efforts.

 

Bragg said he spent his day fishing main-lake ledges between the takeoff ramp and Cheneyhatchee Creek. He said he rotated through about 20 brush piles as the day progressed.

“I started out on some shallow ledges, in 3 to 6 feet of water, throwing a crankbait,” said Bragg, who earned his first career-win in FLW competition. “Some shad were spawning and the fish were up feeding on them, so I hit as much as I could until the spawn slowed down.”

Bragg utilized both Sexy Shad- and Citrus-colored Strike King 5XD Crankbaits, which he cited as his most productive lure of the tournament. He also threw a Carolina-rigged green pumpkin-colored Zoom Brush Hog and a Texas-rigged plum-colored Zoom ‘Ol Monster Worm. He said he ended up catching 15 keepers throughout the event.

“After the wind picked up I started throwing the Carolina rig and the worm,” said Bragg. “The fish were ready to feed. It was one of those deals where if you pulled up and didn’t get a bite in ten minutes, you might as well move on to the next one. My Lowrance electronics and Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor were what really got me the win. The Spot-Lock feature on the Ultrex allowed me to focus on fishing rather than battling the wind.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Josh Bragg, Jacksonville, Ala., five bass, 22-13, $4,266

2^nd:         Bryan Brown, Cataula, Ga., five bass, 17-14, $2,083

3^rd:          Cole Burdeshaw, Newville, Ala., five bass, 17-11, $1,256

4^th:          Mark Stillwell, Salem, Ala., five bass, 17-5, $879

5^th:          Ken Greene, Lumpkin, Ga., five bass, 16-7, $753

6^th:          Winston Steen, Wellington, Ala., five bass, 16-6, $790

7^th:          Robert Pelt II, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 16-2, $628

8^th:          Jade Keeton, Florence, Ala., five bass, 16-0, $565

9^th:          Mike Cavender, Phenix City, Ala., five bass, 14-13, $470

9^th:          Michael Smith, Andalusia, Ala., five bass, 14-13, $470

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Bragg also caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $500.

Emory Walden of Newnan, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,333 Saturday after bringing a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 1 ounce to the scale.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Emory Walden, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 18-1, $2,333

2^nd:         Keith Lynch, River Falls, Ala., four bass, 10-8, $992

3^rd:          Heath Martin, Fyffe, Ala., five bass, 10-2, $627

4^th:          James Wooddell, Columbus, Ohio, three bass, 9-4, $439

5^th:          Justin Girdner, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 8-13, $377

6^th:          Ferlin Weeks, Trinity, Ala., four bass, 8-10, $345

7^th:          Thomas Gore, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 8-7, $314

8^th:          Kevin Johnson, Grady, Ala., three bass, 8-3, $282

9^th:          Arthur Lee Matthews III, Marietta, Ga., four bass, 7-14, $251

10^th:        Lew Moore, Roanoke, Ala., four bass, 7-13, $220

Walden also caught the biggest bass among Co-angler Division anglers, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $250.

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.

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