Tim Jones of North Augusta did not catch a 2-day limit at the Clarks Hill two day American Bass Anglers Bassmaster Weekend Series Division 9 divisional championship tournament this past weekend, but it didn’t stop him from winning the event by more than two pounds. Jones’ 22.11 total weight was aided by a 7.10 lb lunker on day two that he said was nothing more than a lucky catch. “My partner threw a frog out there and the fish blew up on the frog and he snatched the frog from here and I threw the Super Fluke in there and caught her,” said Jones, who pocketed over $2700.

Jones spent both tournament days fishing shakey-heads, Zoom Ol’ Monster worms, and flukes like the one he said helped him get lucky. Jones wasn’t about to complain about getting lucky though. After struggling on his home lake through day one, bringing only 4 fish to the weigh-in and starting day two in sixth place, Jones was happy to get a little luck.

Leesville’s Sean Anderson finished second, and had the opposite kind of luck as Jones. Leading at the end of day one by over a pound, Anderson caught only two fish on Sunday, but still beat out four anglers with two-day limits (10 fish) for second place and $1362. Anderson had 16.62 lbs on day one, and finished with 19.71. He also took home $160 for Big Fish, an 8.38-pounder he caught on day one.

Brian Gunn of Savannah took third place with 19.34 with his 10 fish limit, winning $907. Andy Wicker of Pomaria finished fourth with 17.81 lbs. He won $650 and finished as the overall points leader for Division 9. Most anglers in this tournament did considerably better on one day or the other, which most attributed to the drastic change in weather–constantly raining on day one, then a mix of sun and clouds, and no rain on day two–but Wicker seemed unaffected by the change and was without a doubt the most consistent angler over the two-day period. Wicker caught 5 fish weighing 8.65 lbs on day one, followed by 9.18 on day two. Ron Brown of Charleston took fifth place with 16.31 lbs for his 10 fish and won $440.

In the co-angler division, Buddy Walden of Leesville won with 13.19 lbs for his six-fish limit and won $1276. Sammy Freeman of Irmo finished second and was the only angler in the top 5 with only 4 fish. Freeman pocketed $639 in winnings, but said finishing ahead of his son, fellow co-angler Samuel “CJ” Freeman, who finished 18th, was his biggest victory of the weekend.

Travis Malphrus of Ridgeland took third with 6 fish weighing 9.85, followed by Michael Norris of Myrtle Beach, whose two-day limit totaled 9.08 lbs. Cleveland Georgia’s Robert Gambrell rounded out the top 5 with five fish weighing 8.67 lbs, winning $460. Wicker’s brother Dan McGlohorn of Pomaria took sixth place, and was the only angler with three fish to finish in the money. McGlohorn’s trio weighed 6.84 and put over $200 in his hand.

The Big Fish award on the co-angler side went to Eddy Morgan for his 5.29-pounder, which was Morgan’s lone keeper of the weekend, earning him $75.