Ford wins co-angler title
Local angler Scott Montgomery of Eufaula, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division tournament on Lake Eufaula presented by Power-Pole. For his victory, Montgomery took home $4,279.
Montgomery said he began his day targeting spawning shad along a 100-yard stretch of mid-lake rocks.
“I used a Gizzard Shad-colored Strike King KVD HC 2.5 Square Bill Silent Crankbait, but the bite was really slow,” said Montgomery, who earned his second career win in FLW competition. “I decided to go with my backup plan and ran to the south end of the lake. I hit around 30 different points and rocky areas and it ended up being my main deal.
“I used the Strike King and boated nearly 10 keepers throughout the day from the clearest water possible,” Montgomery continued. “There were certain areas you could actually see the mudline outside of the pockets.”
Around 1:30 p.m., Montgomery said he brought in a 6-pounder out of some rocks using a chartreuse-colored Big Bite Baits Suicide Shad Swimbait.
“The swimbait is brand new and has great action to it,” said Montgomery. “The 6-pounder was a great addition to the livewell. I didn’t catch a lot of fish, but the ones I did were decent. Luckily, I went with my backup plan.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Scott Montgomery, Eufaula, Ala., five bass, 20-9, $4,279
2nd: Scott Armstrong, Headland, Ala., five bass, 19-15, $2,140
3rd: Bobby Padgett, LaGrange, Ga., five bass, 19-8, $1,726
4th: Chad Newbolt, Opelika, Ala., five bass, 18-7, $998
5th: David Gaston, Sylacauga, Ala., five bass, 18-0, $856
6th: Barry Hooper, Monticello, Ga., four bass, 17-13, $1,390
7th: Michael Smith, Andalusia, Ala., four bass, 17-11, $713
8th: Alan Brightwell, Moultrie, Ga., five bass, 16-7, $642
9th: David Lowery, Phenix City, Ala., five bass, 16-3, $571
10th: Sean Buntin, Satsuma, Ala., five bass, 16-1, $499
Hooper caught a 7-pound, 14-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $605.
Jeffrey Ford of Trion, Georgia, weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,140.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jeffrey Ford, Trion, Ga., five bass, 14-6, $2,140
2nd: Emory Walden, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 13-14, $1,070
3rd: Ben Waldrop, Hiram, Ga., five bass, 13-10, $712
4th: Rodney Graham, Childersburg, Ala., five bass, 11-12, $499
5th: Lee Gissendaner, Eufaula, Ala., four bass, 10-10, $428
6th: Luke Williamson, McCalla, Ala., five bass, 10-3, $392
7th: Steve Watson, Panama City, Fla., four bass, 10-0, $357
8th: Bailey Boutries, Daphne, Ala., three bass, 9-12, $321
9th: Ryan Muccio, Columbia, Ala., three bass, 9-10, $285
10th: Todd Radney, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 9-8, $250
Christopher Fowler of Andalusia, Alabama, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $302.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 27-29 Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. 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
