Pelham’s Griffin Grabs Co-angler Title

EATONTON, Ga. (June 12, 2017) – Garrett Stevens of McDonough, Georgia, weighed five bass Saturday totaling 16 pounds, 11 ounces to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bulldog Division tournament on Lake Sinclair. For his victory, Stevens was awarded $4,009.

“I caught every one of my fish on a (June Bug-colored) Zoom Magnum Shakey Head Worm,” said Stevens, who earned the win in his first career tournament as a boater after competing as a Co-angler for three and a half seasons. “I targeted docks in less than 5 feet of water, especially ones that may have had some brush or were near depth changes. I probably fished 30 to 50 of them, but only a couple held really good fish.”

Stevens said his docks were located on the Oconee River, and that he caught 10 to 12 keepers throughout the day.

“I only had one fish come from under a dock, and the rest came from the sides or front,” said Stevens. “I flipped the worm, let it hit the bottom and then I would hop it a couple of times. Soon, you couldn’t feel the weight of the worm anymore, and the line would just start moving.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Garrett Stevens, McDonough, Ga., five bass, 16-11, $4,009

2^nd:         Buster Slocumb, Juliette, Ga., five bass, 13-2, $2,005

3^rd:          David Milsaps, Ranger, Ga., five bass, 12-12, $1,536

4^th:          Stephen Jones, Macon, Ga., five bass, 12-11, $1,035

5^th:          Tony Couch, Buckhead, Ga., five bass, 12-9, $802

6^th:          Kyle Welcher, Opelika, Ala., five bass, 12-4, $735

7^th:          Kim Carver, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 12-0, $668

8^th:          Dylan Peppers, Good Hope, Ga., five bass, 11-11, $601

9^th:          Tyler Morgan, Columbus, Ga., five bass, 11-5, $535

10^th:        Kip Carter, Social Circle, Ga., five bass, 11-1, $468

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Scott Huff of Madison, Georgia, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $550.

James Griffin of Pelham, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,005 Saturday after weighing four bass totaling 9 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:         James Griffin, Pelham, Ga., four bass, 9-6, $2,005

2^nd:         Dustin Rhoades, Eatonton, Ga., four bass, 8-12, $1,002

3^rd:          Mark Denney, Bonaire, Ga., five bass, 8-2, $868

4^th:          Matthew O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 7-12, $468

5^th:          Andrew Nickeson, Valdosta, Ga., two bass, 7-9, $676

6^th:          Jason Yawn, La Grange, Ga., five bass, 7-7, $401

6^th:          Ken Smith, Lula, Ga., four bass, 7-7, $401

8^th:          Ronald Harris, Jefferson, Ga., five bass, 7-6, $301

9^th:          Jerry Bryant, Douglas, Ga., five bass, 7-4, $267

10^th:        Robert Holliday, Greensboro, Ga., five bass, 6-12, $234

Nickeson caught the biggest bass among Co-angler Division anglers, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $275.

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.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.