Clent Davis of Montevallo, Ala., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Bama Division event on Lay Lake. For his victory, Davis earned $3,794 plus $2,000 Ranger Cup and $300 Evinrude bonuses.
“I need to start fishing this lake more often,” said Davis with a smile after winning his second tournament of the year on Lay Lake. “This is my home lake, and I am pretty comfortable fishing here.
“Saturday was a miserable day,” Davis went on to say. “It rained all day. If anything, that probably helped the bite. I was fishing Lay Lake grass or bank grass staying about 2 feet deep. I was using a Dirty Jig Swim Jig, white, with a NetBait Kickin’ B on a 7’6″ heavy Halo Rod with a Halo reel. To fish the super thick grass that I was fishing you really need the right equipment to pull those bass out of the grass.”
Davis was running and gunning on Saturday, hitting about 30 to 40 spots and staying on each spot only as long as it took to fish the area. He indicated that there was a shad spawn going on and said he caught 30 to 40 fish that averaged about 2 pounds each.
Davis said the weights for the tournament were a little lower than he anticipated. “Lay Lake has been on fire the last two years. I guess it was post-spawn, so the weights were down from what I have seen lately.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
| 2nd: | Chris Dill | Hueytown, Ala. | five bass | 18-8 | $1,897 |
| 3rd: | Tim Hurst | Oxford, Ala. | five bass | 18-2 | $1,265 |
| 4th: | Joey Aderhold | Birmingham, Ala. | five bass | 16-14 | $885 |
| 5th: | Matthew Owens | Dothan, Ala. | five bass | 16-13 | $759 |
| 6th: | Kyle Mabrey | McCalla, Ala. | five bass | 16-10 | $696 |
| 7th: | Brian Randall | Lake View, Ala. | five bass | 16-7 | $600 |
| 7th: | Ricky Smith | Ohatchee, Ala. | five bass | 16-7 | $600 |
| 9th: | Will Davis | Sylacauga, Ala. | five bass | 16-4 | $506 |
| 10th: | Dalton Bobo | Northport, Ala. | five bass | 16-1 | $443 |
Shawn Marquis of Columbus, Ga., weighed five bass totaling 19 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win the co-angler division. Marquis earned $1,897 for his victory.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
| 2nd: | Brian Harbison | McCalla, Ala. | five bass | 14-5 | $949 |
| 3rd: | Scott Curvin | Jacksonville, Ala. | five bass | 12-14 | $633 |
| 4th: | Hulan Mattox | Alexander City, Ala. | five bass | 12-11 | $411 |
| 4th: | Kelly Townson | Hartselle, Ala. | five bass | 12-11 | $411 |
| 6th: | Kevin Johnson | Grady, Ala. | five bass | 12-10 | $348 |
| 7th: | Scott Noles | Woodland, Ala. | five bass | 11-8 | $316 |
| 8th: | Ty Story | Prattville, Ala. | four bass | 10-11 | $285 |
| 9th: | Wayne Haynes | Ohatchee, Ala. | five bass | 10-6 | $253 |
| 10th: | Kathryn Dysart | Pelham, Ala. | three bass | 10-5 | $221 |
The next BFL Bama Division tournament is scheduled for June 15 on Neely Henry in Gadsden, Ala. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Lavonia, Ga. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 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 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. The 2013 BFL All-American is being held June 27-29 on the Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tenn. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
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 2013 over the course of 220 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. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit the FLWOutdoors website and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.By: Julie Huber,
