Neuner wins co-angler title
FLW Tour pro Alex Davis of Albertville, Alabama, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 10 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division Super Tournament on Lake Chickamauga, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 6 ounces. For his victory, Davis earned $8,006.
“I spent the tournament targeting smaller, isolated grass mats on the lower end of the lake,” said Davis, who earned his third win in FLW competition. “In the fall, on a grass lake, you’re going to win by either flipping, punching or throwing a frog, and that’s what I did.
“On Saturday, I caught four keepers by 9 a.m. on a Bluegill-colored Jackall Iobee Frog out of a 40- by 40-yard mat,” Davis continued. “After that, I caught my fifth punching a mat with a black-and-blue Jackall Archelon. I probably had 15 pounds by noon.”
Davis said he made the same milk run on Sunday, using the same baits on the lower end of the lake.
“I caught a keeper on the Iobee, and then two more from a punching spot with the Archelon,” said Davis. “By 1:30 p.m., I only had four in the boat and a storm was on the way. I decided to run back to my frogging area for one more chance. I threw out the Iobee and a fish blew up on it. That was my fifth, and I headed into the scales.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-6, $6,006 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Nick Huff, Corbin, Ky., nine bass, 23-3, $2,503
3rd: Buddy Gross, Ringgold, Ga., eight bass, 21-3, $1,603
4th: Steve Barnes, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 19-6, $1,121
5th: Adam Johnston, Loudon, Tenn., four bass, 18-2, $1,538
6th: Brad Napier, Harts, W. Va., eight bass, 16-5, $1,181
7th: Burton Bryan, Sevierville, Tenn., five bass, 15-7, $801
8th: Dean Iles, Knoxville, Tenn., six bass, 14-5, $721
9th: Norm Attaway, Clearwater, S.C., four bass, 13-3, $641
10th: Matthew Rock, Crossville, Tenn., five bass, 12-6, $561
Johnston caught a bass weighing 9 pounds, 8 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $577.
Jerry Neuner of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and earned $2,403 with a two-day cumulative catch of six bass weighing 10 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jerry Neuner, Rutherfordton, N.C., six bass, 10-9, $2,403
2nd: Ted Ridley, Maryville, Tenn., three bass, 9-13, $1,491
3rd: Tony Brown, Harriman, Tenn., four bass, 8-15, $801
4th: Don Bible, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 8-2, $561
5th: Chris Darby, Hot Springs, Ark., three bass, 7-4, $581
6th: Stacey Newberry, Maryville, Tenn., three bass, 6-14, $441
7th: Wayne Musick, Lebanon, Va., two bass, 6-5, $401
8th: Joseph Renfro, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 6-1, $360
9th: Randall Hillyer, Summerville, S.C., two bass, 6-0, $370
10th: Dennis Lewis, Powell, Tenn., two bass, 5-9, $280
Ridley caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $289.
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
