Sharp wins co-angler title
Tom Rubbo of Lexington, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 6 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division Super Tournament on Lake Wylie, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 14 ounces. Rubbo pocketed $4,531 for his win.
“The lake was challenging, but I was able to get on a shallow-water pattern,” said Rubbo, who logged his first win in FLW competition. “There was a lot of baitfish in the creeks, so I targeted them.”
Rubbo said he fished the lower end of the lake and rotated between six different creeks.
“I caught one keeper on a small Luck-E-Strike Rick Clunn Crankbait on Day One,” said Rubbo. “I fished toward the backs of the creeks and ended up catching around 10 keepers with a few different lures.
“On Sunday, I rotated between three of the creeks,” Rubbo continued. “I caught a limit and culled three or four bass by 10:30 a.m. After that, I realized the fish in my school were all similar-sized, so I spent the remainder of the day looking for a bigger catch.”
Rubbo said he used the Lucky-E-Strike crankbait the entire day Sunday and was able to put eight keepers in the boat.
“I really fished clean – I only lost one bass all weekend,” said Rubbo. “I was able to keep the trolling motor down and maximize my fishing time.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Tom Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., 10 bass, 24-14, $4,531
2nd: Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., eight bass, 19-8, $2,465
3rd: Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., eight bass, 18-8, $1,611
4th: Willie McMullen, Oxford, Ga., eight bass, 16-8, $1,057
5th: Maurice Freeze, Concord, N.C., seven bass, 15-14, $1,206
6th: Parks Jones Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., six bass, 13-6, $831
7th: Joey Sabbagha, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 13-4, $1,272
8th: Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., seven bass, 12-12, $680
9th: Johnathan Crossland, Chapin, S.C., six bass, 12-10, $604
10th: Winston Husband, Gilbert, S.C., six bass, 11-12, $529
Sabbagha caught a bass weighing 5 pounds even – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $517.
Sharp of Round O, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and earned $2,200 with a two-day cumulative catch of six bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Calvin Sharp, Round O, S.C., six bass, 11-13, $2,200
2nd: Khris Williams, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 9-12, $1,300
3rd: David Hutcherson, Campobello, S.C., four bass, 9-6, $734
4th: Donald Black, Fort Mill, S.C., four bass, 8-4, $513
5th: Lee Inman, Inman, S.C., four bass, 7-13, $490
6th: Rodney Tapp, North Augusta, S.C., three bass, 6-8, $403
7th: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., two bass, 5-7, $618
8th: Adam Fincher, Roebuck, S.C., two bass, 5-7, $330
9th: Randy Brown, Lugoff, S.C., two bass, 4-11, $293
10th: Mark Wingate, Gaston, S.C., three bass, 4-1, $257
Ruff caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $251.
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, Gerogia. 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
