Ball wins co-angler title
Brant Grimm of Church Hill, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the fourth FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division tournament of 2016 on Cherokee Lake. For his victory, Grimm took home $6,159.
“I spent my day on the Holston River fishing shallow bars and flats where the bass were pulling up to feed on shad,” said Grimm, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “I only had six bites all day, but I caught a 6-pounder within my first 20 casts. That fish really anchored my limit.”
Grimm said he needed only one 50-yard stretch to catch his winning bass.
“After the 6-pounder, all of my bites were about an hour apart,” said Grimm. “On my final cast I was able to make a small cull, which helped, but it was really that early big bass that sealed the deal for me.”
Grimm said he used one bait during the tournament – a shad-colored swimbait from Foolin’ Bass Custom Baits.
“They poured it to my exact size and color speci
fications and it really made a difference,” said Grimm. “It was a pretty straightforward day out there. Everything came together and it worked out.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Brant Grimm, Church Hill, Tenn., five bass, 17-15, $4,159 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Michael Cantrell, Philadelphia, Tenn., five bass, 15-9, $1,840
3rd: Jimmy Taylor, Clinton, Tenn., five bass, 15-0, $1,225
4th: Bill Humbard, New Market, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $859
5th: Archie Wilson Jr., Corryton, Tenn., five bass, 14-10, $736
6th: Hermilo Salgado, Artemus, Ky., five bass, 14-2, $675
7th: Ken Vicchio, Bluff City, Tenn., four bass, 13-10, $913
8th: Burton Bryan, Sevierville, Tenn., five bass, 13-5, $552
9th: Derrick Snavely, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 13-2, $491
10th: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $407
10th: Shawn Strader, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $407
Grimm also caught a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $480.
Ty Ball of Rogersville, Tennessee, weighed in five bass totaling 11 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,757.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Ty Ball, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 11-2, $1,757
2nd: Henry Bryan, Sevierville, Tenn., four bass, 10-3, $879
3rd: Kibbee McCoy, Morristown, Tenn., three bass, 9-12, $585
4th: Matt Brown, Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 9-8, $410
5th: Wes Ratcliff, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 9-5, $351
6th: Jimmy Crum, Afton, Tenn., four bass, 8-5, $322
7th: Kenneth Lodwick, Dandridge, Tenn., four bass, 8-4, $293
8th: Bill Freshour, Strawplains, Tenn., four bass, 7-14, $264
9th: Gary Johns, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., three bass, 7-12, $234
10th: James Morrow, Murphy, N.C., three bass, 7-9, $205
Jeff Boone of Mount Washington, Kentucky, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 6 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $225.
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
