McCoy wins co-angler title
Travis Lilly of Bluff City, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division tournament on Douglas Lake presented by Navionics. For his victory, Lilly took home $3,794.
According to tournament reports, Lilly targeted postspawn bass on the lower end of the lake using a swimbait and a spoon.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Travis Lilly, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 20-13, $3,794
2nd: Tim Hicks, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 19-8, $1,897
3rd: Nick Huff, Corbin, Ky., five bass, 18-5, $1,265
4th: Nick Hatfield, Jonesborough, Tenn., five bass, 18-4, $885
5th: Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 16-15, $759
6th: Sam McCowan, Cedar Bluff, Va., five bass, 16-13, $996
7th: Michael Cantrell, Philadelphia, Tenn., five bass, 15-7, $632
8th: Buster Lilly, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 15-5, $569
9th: Mark McCowan, Pounding Mill, Va., four bass, 14-15, $506
10th: Bobby Ferguson, Chuckey, Tenn., five bass, 14-1, $443
Lincoln Steele of Knoxville, Tennessee, caught a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $495.
Kibbee McCoy of Morristown, Tennessee, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,897.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kibbee McCoy, Morristown, Tenn., five bass, 15-14, $1,897
2nd: Kelsey Harvey, Jonesborough, Tenn., five bass, 14-2, $949
3rd: John Coker, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 13-12, $633
4th: Richard Wolfe, Mooresburg, Tenn., five bass, 13-1, $443
5th: Nick Coker, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 11-0, $347
5th: Brian Loyd, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 11-0, $347
5th: Andy Francis, Abingdon, Va., five bass, 11-0, $347
8th: James Morrow, Murphy, N.C., five bass, 10-1, $269
8th: Randall Hillyer, Summerville, S.C., five bass, 10-1, $269
10th: Joshua Jernigan, Rocky Top, Tenn., three bass, 10-0, $468
Jernigan caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $247.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
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. 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 and South Korea. 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
