Harriman’s Brown Wins Co-angler Title

ANDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 26, 2018) – Boater Rob Linkous of Rogersville, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division opener on Norris Lake presented by Navionics. Linkous earned $3,545 for his victory.

“I was fishing on the main lake, on the Clinch side,” said Linkous, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I figured out a pattern late Friday while practicing and I just went to the bank and started cranking.”

Linkous said that he caught around 25 fish throughout the day – six keepers. He said the key to his victory was his lure – an Ike’s Demon-colored Rapala DT6 crankbait.

“I was sitting in 17 feet of water and throwing parallel to the bank,” Linkous said. “I would use a fast retrieve, then stop and twitch the bait. The fish would bite on the pause.

“The keepers were coming out of 10 feet of water,” he continued. “Once I had my limit, I cut off the DT6 and gave it to my co-angler to tie on and catch a few. It was his first tournament and he ended up cashing a check as well. It was a fun day on the water.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Rob Linkous, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 18-1, $3,545

2^nd:         Chris Bullock, Lake City, Tenn., five bass, 17-13, $1,773

3^rd:         Brian Pate, Wise, Va., five bass, 16-5, $1,181

4^th:         Kyle Smith, Elizabethton, Tenn., five bass, 16-3, $827

5^th:         Craig Powers, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 14-10, $709

6^th:         Willie Bryan, Sevierville, Tenn., five bass, 14-7, $650

7^th:         Justin McGaha, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 14-2, $1,091

8^th:         Jimmy Taylor, Clinton, Tenn., five bass, 13-7, $532

9^th:         Nick Huff, Corbin, Ky., four bass, 13-0, $543

9^th:         Burton Bryan, Sevierville, Tenn., five bass, 13-0, $443

Complete results can be found below:

Tyler Duckworth of Gray, Tennessee, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $445.

Matt Brown of Harriman, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $1,889 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Matt Brown, Harriman, Tenn., four bass, 12-8, $1,889

2^nd:         Brandon Harris, Spring City, Tenn., five bass, 11-12, $894

3^rd:         Bobby Hendricks, Reliance, Tenn., five bass, 11-6, $564

4^th:         Dan Roberts, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 10-12, $394

5^th:         David Blakely, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 10-5, $338

6^th:         Chad Ball, Abingdon, Va., three bass, 10-3, $310

7^th:         John Coker, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 9-0, $281

8^th:         Matthew Rasnick, Elizabethton, Tenn., four bass, 8-15, $253

9^th:         Scott Standafer, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 8-12, $211

9^th:         Dakota Vance, Lenore, W. Va., three bass, 8-12, $211

Ryan Buchanan of Gray, Tennessee, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a 4-pound, 9-ounce fish. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $207.

The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division event on Norris Lake presented by Navionics was hosted by the Anderson County Tourism Council.

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. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.

 

PLACE	ANGLER	CITY/STATE	DAY 1 WT (Fish)	DAY 1&2 WT (Fish)	WINNINGS
1	ROB LINKOUS	ROGERSVILLE, TN	18 – 1 (5)	18 – 1 (5)	$3,545
2	CHRIS BULLOCK	LAKE CITY, TN	17 – 13 (5)	17 – 13 (5)	$1,773
3	BRIAN PATE	WISE, VA	16 – 5 (5)	16 – 5 (5)	$1,181
4	KYLE SMITH	ELIZABETHTON, TN	16 – 3 (5)	16 – 3 (5)	$827
5	CRAIG POWERS	ROCKWOOD, TN	14 – 10 (5)	14 – 10 (5)	$709
6	WILLIE BRYAN	SEVIERVILLE, TN	14 – 7 (5)	14 – 7 (5)	$650
7	JUSTIN MCGAHA	KNOXVILLE, TN	14 – 2 (5)	14 – 2 (5)	$1,091
8	JIMMY TAYLOR	CLINTON, TN	13 – 7 (5)	13 – 7 (5)	$532
9	NICK HUFF	CORBIN, KY	13 – 0 (4)	13 – 0 (4)	$543
9	BURTON BRYAN	SEVIERVILLE, TN	13 – 0 (5)	13 – 0 (5)	$443
11	KEN VICCHIO	BLUFF CITY, TN	12 – 8 (4)	12 – 8 (4)	$372
12	TYLER GREGORY	STEARNS, KY	12 – 7 (4)	12 – 7 (4)	$343
13	JONATHAN BOWLING	HARRIMAN, TN	12 – 6 (5)	12 – 6 (5)	$331
14	DENSMORE GOODSON	LETCHER, KY	12 – 5 (5)	12 – 5 (5)	$313
15	JEFFREY MAHAFFEY	BRISTOL, TN	12 – 1 (5)	12 – 1 (5)	$295
16	MICHAEL CANTRELL	PHILADELPHIA, TN	12 – 0 (5)	12 – 0 (5)	$284
17	GREG MOORE	BRICEVILLE, TN	11 – 11 (5)	11 – 11 (5)	$272
18	WALTER OGLE	MARYVILLE, TN	11 – 9 (5)	11 – 9 (5)
19	J R HENARD	ROGERSVILLE, TN	11 – 2 (3)	11 – 2 (3)
20	LARRY NEAL	PINEY FLATS, TN	10 – 15 (5)	10 – 15 (5)
21	CHRISTIAN NICKLES	CLINTWOOD, VA	10 – 10 (4)	10 – 10 (4)
22	TYLER DUCKWORTH	GRAY, TN	10 – 7 (3)	10 – 7 (3)	$445
23	JOHN NAPIER	MIDDLESBORO, KY	10 – 3 (5)	10 – 3 (5)
24	CHRIS MALAS	CINCINNATI, OH	10 – 2 (3)	10 – 2 (3)
25	BRIAN BOGART	JONESBOROUGH, TN	10 – 0 (4)	10 – 0 (4)
26	KEVIN POWERS	UNICOI, TN	9 – 13 (4)	9 – 13 (4)
27	TIMOTHY PACK	DELBARTON, WV	9 – 12 (3)	9 – 12 (3)
27	JAMES BARLOW	JONESBORO, TN	9 – 12 (5)	9 – 12 (5)
29	NICK HATFIELD	JONESBOROUGH, TN	9 – 10 (4)	9 – 10 (4)
30	ARCHIE WILSON JR	CORRYTON, TN	9 – 8 (5)	9 – 8 (5)
30	TODD NIDIFFER	LAFOLLETTE, TN	9 – 8 (3)	9 – 8 (3)
32	KEVIN MCKAMEY	CLINTON, TN	9 – 4 (3)	9 – 4 (3)
32	TRAVIS RIDDLE	CANTON, NC	9 – 4 (3)	9 – 4 (3)
34	RANDY MCCARTY	PAINTSVILLE, KY	8 – 9 (5)	8 – 9 (5)
35	COREY NEECE	BRISTOL, TN	8 – 6 (5)	8 – 6 (5)
36	RAY PHILHOWER	MILFORD, OH	8 – 5 (3)	8 – 5 (3)
37	MATTHEW ROCK	BRISTOL, VA	8 – 4 (5)	8 – 4 (5)
38	JACK FAULKNER II	JACKSBORO, TN	7 – 13 (4)	7 – 13 (4)
39	BRIAN HOLCOMB	MADISONVILLE, TN	7 – 12 (3)	7 – 12 (3)
40	JORDAN CARD	KNOXVILLE, TN	7 – 3 (3)	7 – 3 (3)
41	WES CRAGER	KNOXVILLE, TN	6 – 12 (2)	6 – 12 (2)
42	RANDY NORRIS	JOHNSON CITY, TN	6 – 8 (2)	6 – 8 (2)
43	JOSHUA SHORT	BEAN STATION, TN	6 – 3 (2)	6 – 3 (2)
44	SHANE SLOAN	KNOXVILLE, TN	5 – 15 (4)	5 – 15 (4)
45	BRANDON CARD	DANDRIDGE, TN	5 – 14 (2)	5 – 14 (2)
46	NATHAN HIPPS	CANTON, NC	5 – 6 (3)	5 – 6 (3)
46	CHIP CHAMBERS	ELIZABETHTON, TN	5 – 6 (2)	5 – 6 (2)
48	MATT BROWN	CORBIN, KY	5 – 3 (1)	5 – 3 (1)
49	BUD MCKELVEY	KNOXVILLE, TN	4 – 12 (2)	4 – 12 (2)
50	JESSE BURNETT	KNOXVILLE, TN	4 – 9 (2)	4 – 9 (2)
51	TIM HENDRICKS	KNOXVILLE, TN	4 – 5 (2)	4 – 5 (2)
52	COLTON CHAMBERS	ELIZABETHTON, TN	4 – 4 (2)	4 – 4 (2)
53	REX PENDERGRASS	BRISTOL, TN	4 – 3 (2)	4 – 3 (2)
54	GARY HEATH	BRISTOL, VA	3 – 13 (1)	3 – 13 (1)
55	KEITH MCDEERMAN	JACKSBORO, TN	3 – 12 (1)	3 – 12 (1)
56	JESSIE HALL	SWEETWATER, TN	3 – 11 (1)	3 – 11 (1)
57	KEVIN EDWARDS	KNOXVILLE, TN	3 – 10 (2)	3 – 10 (2)
57	JOHN JUSTICE	OLIVER SPRINGS, TN	3 – 10 (2)	3 – 10 (2)
59	JASON STURGILL	BIG STONE GAP, VA	3 – 9 (1)	3 – 9 (1)
60	TATE RICE	NEWPORT, TN	3 – 8 (2)	3 – 8 (2)
61	EDDIE RICHARDS	CORBIN, KY	3 – 3 (1)	3 – 3 (1)
62	AUSTIN WINTER	LENOIR, TN	3 – 1 (2)	3 – 1 (2)
63	BRIAN PAUL	JACKSBORO, TN	3 – 0 (1)	3 – 0 (1)
63	STEVE COLEMAN	CLAYTON, GA	3 – 0 (1)	3 – 0 (1)
65	JOHN CARROLL	LAFOLLETTE, TN	2 – 15 (1)	2 – 15 (1)
66	RYAN BEELER	WASHBURN, TN	2 – 13 (1)	2 – 13 (1)
66	LANCE DOUGHTY	SWEETWATER, TN	2 – 13 (1)	2 – 13 (1)
68	COREY COOK	DELBARTON, WV	2 – 10 (1)	2 – 10 (1)
69	MILES BURGHOFF	SANTA CRUZ, CA	1 – 13 (1)	1 – 13 (1)
70	RICK CHAPPELL	ELIZABETHTON, TN	1 – 9 (1)	1 – 9 (1)
71	KYLE FISHER	BOONE, NC	1 – 7 (1)	1 – 7 (1)
72	JOHNNY MCCOY	INEZ, KY	1 – 6 (1)	1 – 6 (1)
72	JONATHAN LAWSON	DUFFIELD, VA	1 – 6 (1)	1 – 6 (1)
	CHANCEY HATFIELD	WHITESBURG, KY
	WES TILLEY	ANDERSONVILLE, TN
	RYAN LETT	KNOXVILLE, TN
	PETER BALISHIN	SHARPS CHAPEL, TN
	AARON BOWMAN	MAYNARDVILLE , TN
	TIM HOSKINS	MIDDLESBORO, KY
	ROBERT WORMSLEY	LAFOLLETTE, TN
	BRIAN DORTCH	BEAN STATION, TN
	TOM HELTON	DAYTON, OH
	JIMMY AMBURGEY	LEBANON, VA
	JEREMY GORDON	RUTLEDGE, TN
	EDDIE BALL	NEWPORT, TN
	STEVEN KLASING	DOWNERS GROVE, IL
	STEVE BARBEE	MARYVILLE, TN
	JOSH ANDERSON	COEBURN, VA
	DEREK HOLLY	JOHNSON CITY, TN