Earnest wins co-angler title
Aaron Harrelson of Glen, Mississippi, weighed four bass totaling 18 pounds, 2 ounces, Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division Super Tournament on Pickwick Lake with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 32 pounds, 9 ounces. For his victory, Harrelson earned $6,638.
“I caught my fish in 8-foot depths near grass on a red worm and a chartreuse and white-colored spinnerbait,” said Harrelson of his first career win in FLW competition. “I also caught some on a G-Bait Custom Lures Jig.”
Harrelson said he caught each of his nine keepers over the course of the tournament at his mid-lake area.
“I was fortunate enough to be fishing grass that no one else was on,” said Harrelson “What made it special was a little ditch that ran through the area. It was about 2 feet deeper than the grass around it, and made for a great flipping spot.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Aaron Harrelson, Glen, Miss., nine bass, 32-9, $6,638
2nd: Kevin Wright, Waterloo, Ala., 10 bass, 32-4, $3,319
3rd: Larry Materia, Collierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-2, $2,213
4th: Jade Keeton, Florence, Ala., 10 bass, 32-1, $1,549
5th: Kyle Lewellen, Byhalia, Miss., 10 bass, 31-15, $1,328
6th: Danny Holloway, Corinth, Miss., 10 bass, 29-9, $1,217
7th: Tim Fox, Meridan, Miss., 10 bass, 29-1, $1,106
8th: Taylor Luna, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 10 bass, 28-5, $996
9th: Nathan Ennis, Collierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-1, $885
10th: Brandon Perkins, Counce, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-10, $774
Jason Cordell of Pelahatchie, Mississippi, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday. The fish weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $952.
Jennings Earnest of Guin, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $3,267 with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jennings Earnest, Guin, Ala., 10 bass, 26-4, $3,267
2nd: Jimmy Washam, Covington, Tenn., eight bass, 23-7, $1,633
3rd: Farley Fondren, Maben, Miss., eight bass, 22-9, $1,091
4th: Jesse Wiggins, Cullman, Ala., seven bass, 22-7, $762
5th: Ryan Moore, Cedar Bluff, Miss., six bass, 18-4, $653
6th: Craig Mayo, Corinth, Miss., seven bass, 16-7, $599
7th: Doug Young, Caledonia, Miss., six bass, 16-5, $544
8th: Tim White, West Point, Miss., seven bass, 15-8, $490
9th: Stephen Brown, Arlington, Tenn., six bass, 14-6, $436
10th: Mitchell Bond, Collins, Miss., seven bass, 14-2, $381
Wiggins caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $469.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now 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