Fort Lauderdale’s Bartlett tops Co-angler field

CLEWISTON, Fla. (March 27, 2017) – Jessie Mizell of Sarasota, Florida, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Gator Division event on Lake Okeechobee Saturday with a five-bass limit totaling 23-pounds even. For his victory, Mizell pocketed $4,915.

 

“I began the day fishing near Bird Island, but the wind picked up and muddied the water,” said Mizell, who earned his second career-win on Lake Okeechobee in BFL competition. “I stayed there for a while and caught a couple of small ones. By 1 p.m., I knew I needed to change things up.

“I went to a little cove by the North Shore that was out of the wind and fished really slow in the calm water,” continued Mizell. “I focused on some small lilypads. I went back and forth along a 100-yard stretch and caught my limit by 3:30 p.m.”

Mizell said he used a Red Ear-colored Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog 60 on a 7-foot, 11-inch medium-heavy 13 Fishing rod to craft his limit.

“I could see a slight wake under the frog that most people wouldn’t notice,” said Mizell. “I paused and let the bait sit for about 10 or 15 seconds. When I moved it, they’d eat it.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Jessie Mizell, Sarasota, Fla., five bass, 23-0, $4,915

2^nd:         Brianne McMillan, Belle Glade, Fla., five bass, 22-4, $2,658

3^rd:          Jim Hurlock Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla., five bass, 19-9, $1,640

4^th:          Cody Davis, Deerfield Beach, Fla., five bass, 18-9, $1,147

5^th:          Nicholas Hoinig, Delray Beach, Fla., five bass, 18-8, $1,083

6^th:          Mike Surman, Boca Raton, Fla., five bass, 18-6, $1,201

7^th:          Dustin Royer, Davie, Fla., five bass, 18-5, $819

8^th:          Jesus Villegas, Virginia Gardens, Fla., five bass, 16-12, $737

9^th:          Frank Mackin, New Port Richey, Fla., five bass, 16-9, $1,405

10^th:        Kyle Monti, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 16-4, $573

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Mackin caught the heaviest bass of the tournament, a fish weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces, which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $750.

Brandon Bartlett of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, weighed in five bass totaling 19 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $2,833.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Brandon Bartlett, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., five bass, 19-9, $2,833

2^nd:         Matthew Wolfe Jr., Orlando, Fla., five bass, 15-7, $1,429

3^rd:          Fernando Rosa, Plantation, Fla., five bass, 13-9, $817

4^th:          Richard Mongiovi, Indian Lake Estates, Fla., five bass, 12-10, $573

5^th:          Garrett Carter, Middleburg, Fla., five bass, 12-8, $471

5^th:          John Hendry, Crystal River, Fla., five bass, 12-8, $471

7^th:          Michael Carter, Bokeelia, Fla., five bass, 12-2, $460

8^th:          Andrew Pulliam, Spring Hill, Fla., five bass, 11-13, $369

9^th:          Robert Alton, Fort Pierce, Fla., five bass, 11-11, $328

10^th:        Hayden Scharf, De Leon Springs, Fla., five bass, 11-10, $287

Bartlett also caught the biggest bass among Co-angler Division anglers, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $375.

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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