Helton wins co-angler title
Dwight Fox of Gainesboro, Tennessee, weighed four bass totaling 16 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Cumberland. For his victory, Fox earned $4,463.
“During practice I looked for stained water in the flats and found some good spots, so that’s what I focused on during the tournament,” said Fox, who also won a Walmart BFL event last weekend on Center Hill Lake in Sparta, Tennessee. “I could only see only two or three feet down, so it was ideal.”
Fox said he caught a couple keeper bass early in the day on a shad-colored Heddon Zara Spook but had to switch baits around 8:45 a.m.
“I concentrated on four different spots towards the northern end of the lake,” said Fox. “I’d go over them with a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Brush Hog and if I didn’t get a bite I’d go back over it with a jig rigged with a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Super Chunk.
“I could get in closer with the jig and the Brush Hog,” Fox continued. “I’d just hop it around a little down there and soon I’d feel the bite. They ended up producing some nice fish.”
Fox said he caught approximately 10 keepers during the tournament.
“I’m old fashioned in the fact that I’ve fished the same baits for over 30 years,” Fox said.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Dwight Fox, Gainesboro, Tenn., four bass, 16-2, $4,463
2nd: Jonathan Green, East Bernstadt, Ky., five bass, 15-8, $2,232
3rd: Michael Morrison, Georgetown, Ky., five bass, 15-3, $1,489
4th: Bill Smith, Jr., Burlington, Ky., five bass, 15-2, $1,041
5th: Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., five bass, 13-15, $893
6th: William Campbell, Middlesboro, Ky., four bass, 13-3, $818
7th: Craig Powers, Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 13-0, $744
8th: Doyle Epperson, Nancy, Ky., four bass, 12-11, $669
9th: Tyler Prewitt, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 12-10, $595
10th: Densmore Goodson, Letcher, Ky., five bass, 12-9, $521
Garry Collins of Russell Springs, Kentucky, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $640.
Tracy Helton of London, Kentucky, weighed in five bass totaling 11 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win $2,232 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Tracy Helton, London, Ky., five bass, 11-3, $2,232
2nd: Autry Hensley, Scottsville, Ky., five bass, 10-11, $1,116
3rd: Ed Bennington, Scottsville, Ky., five bass, 9-14, $743
4th: Jordan Pyles, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 9-11, $521
5th: Joshua Mounce, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 9-3, $446
6th: Darrell Dowell, Burnside, Ky., four bass, 8-15, $409
7th: Travis Parrott, Byrdstown, Tenn., three bass, 8-8, $372
8th: Mike Frye, Stanford, Ky., four bass, 8-2, $335
9th: Allen Neal, Whitley City, Ky., three bass, 8-1, $298
10th: Billy Gardner, Livingston, Tenn., four bass, 8-0, $247
Chevy King of Jamestown, Kentucky, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $320.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 15-17 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. 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
