Rushing wins co-angler title
J.B. King of Byrdstown, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds even Saturday to win the third FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament of 2016 on Lake Cumberland. For his victory, King took home $5,972.
“I went down to the lower end of the lake to target smallmouth along rock bluffs,” said King, who earned the first win of his FLW career. “There was dirt and fine-gravel structure that attracting smallmouth. I fished stretches ranging from 100- to 600-feet long.”
“At my first area I caught my biggest bass of the day – a 4-pound, 11-ouncer – off of a gravel bank,” King continued. “I caught another keeper on a point before hooking two more from a bluff pocket. I spent 15 to 20 minutes in each spot and then moved on. I had five fish by 10:30 a.m.”
King said he used one bait to build his winning limit – a shaky-head rigged with a black and green-colored Zoom Finesse Mag Worm.
“You had to be patient and fish slow,” said King. “The fish were about 15 feet down and were either on a bed or guarding fry. Luckily I made something of my nine bites.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: J.B. King, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 17-0, $5,972
2nd: Terry Ledford, Gray, Ky., five bass, 16-5, $2,236
3rd: Talmadge Marcum, McKee, Ky., five bass, 14-1, $1,492
4th: Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 13-9, $968
4th: Mark Neal, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 13-9, $968
6th: Josh Tramel, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 13-6, $820
7th: Mark Morgan, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 13-4, $745
8th: Michael Allen, Gainesboro, Tenn., five bass, 13-1, $671
9th: Bart Hardy, Hazard, Ky., five bass, 12-14, $596
10th: Dwight Fox, Gainesboro, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $522
Nick Neves of Brooklyn, Michigan, caught a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $650.
Chris Rushing of Gamaliel, Kentucky, weighed in four bass totaling 11 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,236.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Chris Rushing, Gamaliel, Ky., four bass, 11-10, $2,236
2nd: Tyler Sheffield, Dry Ridge, Ky., five bass, 10-12, $1,118
3rd: Justin Sensabaugh, Byrdstown, Tenn., three bass, 7-13, $745
4th: Jason Stigall, Tateville, Ky., two bass, 7-12, $847
5th: Ryan Joshi, Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 7-7, $447
6th: Todd Stopher, London, Ky., three bass, 7-6, $410
7th: Shawn Overton, Coal Valley, Ill., three bass, 7-0, $373
8th: Tony Baber, Dayton, Ohio, three bass, 6-15, $335
9th: Kevin Simpson, Monticello, Ky., two bass, 6-10, $279
9th: Brenton Clemons, Somerset, Ky., three bass, 6-10, $279
Stigall caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $325.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. 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
