Hunt wins co-angler title
Chuck Howard of Elloree, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the fourth FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division tournament of 2016 on Lake Wateree. For his victory, Howard took home $5,718.
Howard said he started out his day running a swimjig through mid-lake grass. He said he fished a long stretch, dialing in on specific spots he knew fish were congregating.
“I swam a black and blue-colored Dirty Jigs Swim Jig through the grass and caught a limit before 9 a.m.,” said Howard, who earned his second win in BFL competition. “After the sun came up and the air got hot, I started pitching a worm around docks.”
The South Carolina angler said he hit more than 50 docks using a Junebug-colored Zoom Trick Worm.
“I probably brought in 10 keepers over the course of the day,” said Howard. “They all came in less than 3 feet of water. I ended up weighing in three on the Trick Worm and two on the swimjig.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Chuck Howard, Elloree, S.C., five bass, 17-11, $3,718 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., five bass, 17-2, $1,709
3rd: Charles Story, Evans, Ga., five bass, 16-13, $1,138
4th: Steve Phillips, Lugoff, S.C., five bass, 16-5, $798
5th: James Buchanan, Monroe, N.C., five bass, 15-11, $684
6th: Wendell Causey Jr., Irmo, S.C., five bass, 15-9, $627
7th: Tom Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 15-6, $570
8th: Brett Collins, Ridgeway, S.C., five bass, 14-4, $513
9th: Dustin Henson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 13-10, $456
10th: Steve Thornhill, Pineville, S.C., five bass, 13-3, $399
Joey Sabbagha of Prosperity, South Carolina, caught a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $420.
David Hunt of Camden, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,709.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: David Hunt, Camden, S.C., five bass, 17-11, $1,709
2nd: Ronald Harrell, Mitchell, Ga., five bass, 12-9, $1,065
3rd: Ezell Mullinax Jr., Gaffney, S.C., five bass, 11-14, $570
4th: Ron Figueroa, Appling, Ga., five bass, 11-5, $399
5th: Adam Fincher, Roebuck, S.C., four bass, 10-11, $342
6th: Jonathan Stokes, Camden, S.C., four bass, 10-4, $313
7th: Jack Daniel Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., four bass, 10-3, $285
8th: Michael Thomas, York, S.C., four bass, 10-1, $256
9th: Mitchell Pare, Guyton, Ga., four bass, 9-12, $228
10th: Shawn Bailey, Starr, S.C., four bass, 9-4, $199
Harrell 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 $210.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. 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
