Georgia’s Dickens tops Co-angler field

SUMMERTON, S.C. (March 20, 2017) – Bradford Beavers of Ridgeville, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division event on Santee Cooper. Beavers took home $3,514 for his victory.

 

Beavers said he started his day working through trees, in 3 to 5 feet of water, on the upper end of the lake.

“I used a ½-ounce Chris-Mas-colored Katch-Her Lures Jig and caught a couple of keepers,” said Beavers, who notched his first career-win in BFL competition. “It was really windy, so I stayed in protected areas. The wind really dictated where I was able to fish.

“After a couple of hours, I ran down to the lower end and fished flats with stumps in similar depths,” continued Beavers. “I caught three with a Chartreuse-Sexy-Shad-colored Strike King KVD HC Square Bill Silent Crankbait.”

Around noon, Beavers said he returned to the trees and used the jig to round out his limit.

“If it weren’t for the wind, I would’ve fished in completely different areas,” said Beavers. “Normally, you hate bad conditions, but sometimes they work in your favor.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Bradford Beavers, Ridgeville, S.C., five bass, 25-13, $3,514

2^nd:         Jerry Pelfrey, Laurens, S.C., five bass, 25-6, $1,957

3^rd:          Ken Ellis, Bowman, S.C., five bass, 22-5, $1,172

4^th:          Daniel Howell, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 21-2, $820

5^th:          Mark Hutson, Moncks Corner, S.C., five bass, 19-4, $673

5^th:          Timmy Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., five bass, 19-4, $973

7^th:          Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., five bass, 18-7, $686

8^th:          Matthew Mollohan, Prosperity, S.C., four bass, 17-8, $527

9^th:          Sandy Oliver, Hartsville, S.C., five bass, 17-2, $469

10^th:        Michael Maxfield, Hanahan, S.C., five bass, 15-7, $410

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Greg Rikard of Leesville, South Carolina, caught a bass weighing 9 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $450.

Charles Dickens of Appling, Georgia, weighed in four bass totaling 15 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and $1,757.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Charles Dickens, Appling, Ga., four bass, 15-14, $1,757

2^nd:         Wesley Mullins, Bloomingdale, Ga., three bass, 12-8, $879

3^rd:          Calvin Sharp, Round O, S.C., five bass, 10-12, $585

4^th:          Paul Foley, Mooresville, N.C., two bass, 9-7, $610

5^th:          David Hutcherson, Campobello, S.C., two bass, 9-1, $351

6^th:          Terry Coleman, Sumter, S.C., three bass, 8-14, $372

7^th:          Audie Brantley, North Augusta, S.C., three bass, 8-13, $293

8^th:          Jeremy Bouldin, Kings Mountain, N.C., two bass, 8-6, $264

9^th:          Russ Scalf, Summerville, S.C., two bass, 8-4, $234

10^th:        Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., three bass, 8-3, $205

Bobby Littlejohn of Spartanburg, South Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $225.

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. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. 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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