Bray Paces Co-anglers
David Barnes Sr., of China, Maine, brought a five-bass limit of smallmouth to the scale Thursday weighing 21 pounds even to grab the lead after day one of the Rayovac FLW Series Championship on the Ohio River. Barnes now holds a 2-pound lead heading in to day two of the three-day event, hosted by Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau and the City of Paducah, that features 171 anglers from across the country casting for a top cash award of $50,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup qualified.
“The good Lord blessed me with seven bites today, and I’m grateful for it,” said Barnes who is representing the Northern Division of the FLW Series after starting to compete in FLW events just this year. “Hopefully I can do that again tomorrow. I just have to stick go out there and stick with my instincts.”
Barnes said he targeted rock shelves 8- to 12-feet deep on the Tennessee River in an area halfway between the Ohio border and Kentucky Dam. He said what made these shelves special were the large holes that acted as safe-havens for fish.
“There is a significant current right now due to local authorities pulling water from the lake,” said Barnes. “During practice I discovered that bass were actually dropping off the shelves and into these holes to get out of it.
“I had three holes within a 200-yard stretch that I focused on,” continued Barnes. “I would move up to one, put my trolling motor down, and drift slowly away from it in the current. Then I’d work my bait from the shelf down to its opening.”
Barnes said he used a Carolina-rigged craw and an unnamed crankbait to catch his fish.
“My biggest fish – a 5-pounder – was caught on the crankbait,” said Barnes. “My other keepers came on the craw and were in the boat by 10:30 a.m.”
Right behind Barnes in second place is Ray Hanselman of Del Rio, Texas, who also weighed in a limit of smallmouth totaling 19 pounds even. Hanselman swept the FLW Series Texas Division earlier this season, winning all three regular-season events.
The top 10 boaters after day one on the Ohio River are:
1st: David Barnes Sr., China, Maine, five bass, 21-0
2nd: Ray Hanselman, Del Rio, Texas, five bass, five bass, 19-0
3rd: Brian Holder, Belmont, N.C., four bass, 14-6
4th: Bill Chapman, Salt Rock, W. Va., five bass, 14-3
5th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, five bass, 13-15
6th: Brandon Perkins, Counce, Tenn., five bass, 13-10
7th: Tyler Suddarth, Valdosta, Ga., four bass, 13-6
8th: Glenn Browne, Ocala, Fla., five bass, 13-2
8th: Wade Curtiss, Meadow Vista, Calif., five bass, 13-2
10th: Brandon Medlock, Lake Placid, Fla., four bass, 12-15
In addition to the top cash award of $50,000 and a Ranger boat if Ranger Cup guidelines are met, the highest finishing pro from each of the five Rayovac FLW Series divisions based on final results qualifies for the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup, along with the top five pros not already selected as the highest finisher from a division. A total of 10 Rayovac FLW Series boaters in this event will punch their ticket to the Forrest Wood Cup, the richest payday in bass fishing. The 2016 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 4-7 on Wheeler Lake.
Joe Bray of Horseshoe Bay, Texas, leads the co-angler division with four bass weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces followed by Scott Stallings of Glencoe, Oklahoma, with three bass weighing 10-1.
The top 10 co-anglers after day one on the Ohio River are:
1st: Joe Bray, Horseshoe Bay, Texas, four bass, 10-4
2nd: Scott Stallings, Glencoe, Okla., three bass, 10-1
3rd: Michel Purvis, Canton, Ga ., four bass, 9-10
3rd: Rodney Treadaway, Decatur, Ala., five bass, 9-10
5th: Tom Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 9-8
6th: Bill Fussell, Thibodaux, La., four bass, 9-0
7th: Dave Crawford, Springfield, W. Va., five bass, 8-8
8th: Randy Gardner, Wetumpka, Ala., two bass, 7-6
9th: Jimmy Ballard, Paris, Texas, five bass, 7-5
10th: Grant McPeters, Marion, N.C., five bass, 6-12
10th: Mike Spurlock, Ripley, W. Va., two bass, 6-12
Co-anglers are casting this week for a top award of a Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
Anglers will take off from the Foot of Broadway Ramp, located at 100 S. Riverfront in Paducah, at 7 a.m. CST each day. Weigh-in on Friday will be held at the boat launch beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will take place at Walmart located at 5130 Hinkleville Road in Paducah, at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Also on Saturday, fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo at Walmart prior to the final championship weigh-in. The Expo includes a Ranger boat simulator, a unique opportunity to interact with anglers who did not make the weekend cut, interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and a chance to learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. The first 50 children 14 and under who are accompanied by an adult will receive a free rod and reel combo courtesy of WPSD Local 6 after the final weigh-in. All activities are free and open to the public.
The 2015 Rayovac FLW Series consisted of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consisted of three tournaments, with competitors vying for valuable points to earn their way into the top 40 and the opportunity to fish in the Rayovac FLW Series Championship.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
