Hester wins co-angler title
Jason Nixon of Wetumpka, Alabama, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional event on Lake Hartwell presented by GoPro, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 31 pounds, 2 ounces. Nixon earned $65,000 for his victory, including a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard, and a berth into the 2017 BFL All-American Championship.
“I found areas in the back of three different creeks during practice that had stained water, which is what I was looking for,” said Nixon, who earned his third win in FLW competition. “But, on the first day of the tournament the water in my first stop wasn’t stained any longer. It was clear, and I didn’t catch a single fish on it. I went to my second area and caught four fish, and then two more at my third.”
Nixon said he was fishing shallow, in 1 to 3 feet of water, and targeting visible brush tops.
“On Day Two, I rotated between the two areas that had produced the day before,” said Nixon. “One area was in the middle of the lake, and the other one was in the lower end. I moved depending on how the fish were biting. I’d work one area over pretty good, and then move on to the second.”
Nixon said the majority of his fish came on a Rainforest Black-colored Spro Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog. He said he boated 17 keepers over the course of the event.
“I fished the frog fast in the morning and slow in the afternoon,” said Nixon. “Some fish would just swirl at it
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2017 BFL All-American were:
1st: Jason Nixon, Wetumpka, Ala., 15 bass, 31-2, $65,000
2nd: Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., 15 bass, 28-12, $10,200
3rd: Conrad Bolt, Seneca, S.C., 15 bass, 28-9, $5,100
4th: Barry Hooper, Monticello, Ga., 15 bass, 28-2, $3,000
5th: Brad Fowler, Townville, S.C., 15 bass, 28-0, $2,000
6th: Todd Harris, Clemmons, N.C., 14 bass, 27-7, $1,800
Rounding out the top-10 boaters were:
7th: Joseph Marks, Duncan, S.C., 15 bass, 26-15, $2,600
8th: Clabion Johns, Covington, Ga., eight bass, 25-9, $1,400
9th: Randy Gillespie, Sanford, N.C., 15 bass, 25-6, $1,200
10th: Michael Anders, Anderson, S.C., 15 bass, 24-8, $1,000
Alex Hester of Crossville, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard with a three-day cumulative catch of 14 bass weighing 19 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2017 BFL All-American were:
1st: Alex Hester, Crossville, Tenn., 14 bass, 19-12, $45,000
2nd: Clarence Raney, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 12 bass, 19-9, $5,000
3rd: Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., 15 bass, 19-4, $2,500
4th: Richard Young, Ellenboro, N.C., 13 bass, 18-12, $1,500
5th: Jeff Scism, Shelby, N.C., 11 bass, 17-8, $1,100
6th: Greg Ravitsky, Ashburn, Va., 11 bass, 17-5, $950
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers were:
7th: Marvin Godard, Charlotte, N.C., 11 bass, 17-1, $800
8th: Nicholas Ireland, Raleigh, N.C., 12 bass, 16-12, $700
9th: Radney Atchison, Prattville, Ala., 11 bass, 15-11, $600
10th: Keith Lynch, River Falls, Ala., 11 bass, 14-14, $500
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and 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 2017 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 3 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Korea and South Africa. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
