Cross wins co-angler title
Dwight Fox of Gainesboro, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 10 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division Super Tournament on the Barren River with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 7 ounces. For his victory, Fox earned $5,886.
“The bass were primarily in mid-lake creeks, in 2 to 8 feet of water,” said Fox who earned his seventh career win in FLW competition. “They congregated around wood and steeper, chunk-rock banks.”
Fox said he used a green Zoom Brush Hog and a green tube to catch his limit Saturday. On Sunday, Fox said he switched to a green jig and found a stronger, more consistent bite.
“I had a limit by 10 a.m., but they were small,” said Fox. “Later on, we went into a pocket and I caught a 5-pounder. It’s a shame we had to leave for weigh in because I know we left some big ones back in there.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Dwight Fox, Gainesboro, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-7, $5,886
2nd: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., seven bass, 24-3, $2,943
3rd: Craig Powers, Rockwood, Tenn., 10 bass, 23-10, $1,964
4th: Talmadge Marcum, McKee, Ky., nine bass, 22-7, $1,373
5th: Brock Jones, Livingston, Tenn., 10 bass, 22-3, $1,177
6th: Rusty Smith, Somerset, Ky., 10 bass, 20-12, $1,079
7th: Michael Bean, Bowling Green, Ky., eight bass, 18-3, $981
8th: Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., seven bass, 17-7, $883
9th: Taylor Stumbo, Prestonsburg, Ky., eight bass, 16-11, $785
10th: Vernon Sowers, Richmond, Ky., seven bass, 16-10, $687
Keith Sickler of Cincinnati, Ohio, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday, a fish weighing 5 pounds even and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $795.
Jake Cross of Cookeville, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and $2,943 with a two-day total of seven bass weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jake Cross, Cookeville, Tenn., seven bass, 15-13, $2,943
2nd: Mark Major, Nicholasville, Ky., seven bass, 15-2, $1,472
3rd: Jason Stigall, Tateville, Ky., seven bass, 14-7, $980
4th: Jeff Pergram, Richmond, Ky., seven bass, 13-12, $687
5th: Jonathan Sydnor, Canmer, Ky., six bass, 12-11, $589
6th: Lucas Devere, Berea, Ky., six bass, 11-5, $540
7th: Tim Kempf, Louisville, Ky., seven bass, 11-4, $491
8th: Kris Mills, Barbourville, Ky., five bass, 10-11, $441
9th: James Wathen, La Grange, Ky., six bass, 10-7, $392
10th: Bart Vaughn, Lexington, Ky., eight bass, 10-3, $343
Joe Henson of Berea, Kentucky, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $397.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now 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
