Missouri’s Govreau Nabs Co-angler Title
Jayme Rampey of Liberty, South Carolina, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 6 ounces. For his win, Rampey pocketed $7,112.
“I caught them from the clear main-lake water to all the way up the Tugaloo River,” said Rampey, who logged his sixth career-win in BFL competition. “I fished fast and shallow along a 30-mile stretch and threw to whatever looked good.”
Rampey said he focused on stumps, wood and docks. He said he ended up weighing eight keepers from a white Zoom Horny Toad, and two from a Buckeye Lures jig with a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw trailer.
“There wasn’t really any rhyme or reason to what I was doing,” said Rampey. “The wind and rain from the outskirts of Hurricane Irma had the fish spread out. I don’t think they were adjusted back to normal weather conditions yet.”
Rampey’s two-day total was highlighted by a 6-pound, 4-ouncer, which he caught Saturday on the Horny Toad near a laydown.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 26-6, $7,112
2nd: Rob Jordan, Flowery Branch, Ga., 10 bass, 25-6, $3,121
3rd: Brad Fowler, Townville, S.C., 10 bass, 23-12, $2,282
4th: Kerry Partain, Elberton, Ga., 10 bass, 23-11, $1,456
5th: Brad Benfield, Cornelia, Ga., 10 bass, 22-14, $1,248
6th: Joey Nichols, Cumming, Ga., 10 bass, 22-13, $1,444
7th: Franklin Ramey III, Abbeville, S.C., 10 bass, 22-7, $1,140
8th: Taylor Ashley, Warrior, Ala., 10 bass, 22-2, $936
9th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 21-14, $832
10th: Todd Goade, Suwanee, Ga., 10 bass, 21-1, $728
Rampey’s 6-pound, 4-ounce bass was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned him the Big Bass award of $870.
Beau Govreau of Cedar Hill, Missouri, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $3,121.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Beau Govreau, Cedar Hill, Mo., 10 bass, 20-9, $3,121
2nd: Darren Jeter, Marshall, N.C., 10 bass, 20-5, $1,660
3rd: Jimmi Leuthner, Tamassee, S.C., 10 bass, 19-8, $1,092
4th: Donnie Davis, Greer, S.C., 10 bass, 19-6, $728
5th: Brandon Brock, Honea Path, S.C., 10 bass, 19-6, $624
6th: Michael Miller, Greenville, S.C., 10 bass, 18-10, $572
7th: Keith Lewis, Franklin, N.C., eight bass, 18-9, $955
8th: Tim Watson, Martin, Ga., eight bass, 17-6, $468
9th: Kevin Landreth, Seneca, S.C., nine bass, 17-6, $416
10th: Mark Denney, Bonaire, Ga., 10 bass, 17-6, $364
Lewis caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $435.
The T-H Marine FLW BFL Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell was hosted by the Anderson Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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 performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the 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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 258 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa 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
