Steve Floyd of Leesburg, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League LBL Division tournament of 2015 on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. For his victory, Floyd earned $6,806.
“It feels pretty great to grab a win,” said Floyd. “I spent a lot of time practicing for this tournament, so it’s nice to see it payoff.”
Floyd said he focused on flipping bushes in small spawning pockets near Paris Landing as his main strategy.
“I probably fished a 10-mile stretch of the river,” said Floyd. “There were four spots I knew would be producing.
“The fish were primarily in shallow bushes,” continued Floyd. “There were a lot of large males and females in that area. Most of them were spawning even though the ones I caught were postspawn.”
To reach his winning five-bass limit, Floyd said he used a green pumpkin-colored Berkley Havoc Pit Boss.
“I caught about nine keepers all in the 3½ pound range,” said Floyd. “It was a fun and consistent day of fishing.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Steve Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, five bass, 16-11, $4,806 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Mike Cox, Magnolia, Ky., five bass, 16-8, $2,403
3rd: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-6, $1,605
4th: Craig Hipsher, Benton, Ky., five bass, 15-13, $1,121
5th: Sam Boss, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 14-10, $961
6th: John Hopkins, Hendersonville, Tenn., five bass, 14-6, $881
7th: Jackson Ryley, Clinton, Ind., five bass, 14-0, $801
8th: Dustin Vaal, Gilbertsville, Ky., five bass, 13-9, $721
9th: Wayne Joyce, Clarksville, Tenn., four bass, 12-11, $641
10th: Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., three bass, 12-9, $561
Willie Rentmeister of Mount Pulaski, Illinois, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $725.
Jimmy Rhodus of Versailles, Kentucky, weighed in four bass totaling 11 pounds, 7 ounce Saturday to win $2,398 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jimmy Rhodus, Versailles, Ky., four bass, 11-7, $2,398
2nd: David Carroll, Manitou, Ky., four bass, 11-0, $1,199
3rd: Charlie Kuebler, Jasper, Ind., five bass, 9-0, $795
4th: Claude Cobb, Lexington, Ky., three bass, 8-4, $560
5th: Robert Robinson, Ashland City, Tenn., two bass, 8-2, $480
6th: Chuck Rounds, Benton, Ky., four bass, 8-0, $440
7th: Dan Basham, Taylorsville, Ky., three bass, 7-6, $400
8th: Frank Spacil, Palos Heights, Ill., three bass, 7-3, $360
9th: David Smothers, Johnston City, Ill., two bass, 6-14, $320
10th: Danny Robinson, Fairland, Ind., three bass, 6-10, $280
Robinson caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $357.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Alabama. 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 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW 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 2015 over the course of 240 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.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
