Vice wins co-angler title
Chris Gerrein of Villa Hills, Kentucky, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River presented by Navionics. For his victory, Gerrein took home $7,925.
Gerrein said he spent his day fishing one area – a channel swing in 6 to 8 feet of water near Browns Ford ramp.
“The area was the perfect scenario,” said Gerrein, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “It was no larger than my boat and had a little bit of grass and a bunch of rock. I kept casting into it and was able to put something together.
“I used a Strike King Pro Model 5XD Crankbait and racked up about 19 pounds by noon,” Gerrein continued. “I figured I had enough to win, but I wanted to keep hammering for the big ones.”
Gerrein said he switched to a Strike King KVD 8.0 Magnum Square-Billed Crankbait to finish out the event.
“On my third cast with the Magnum I caught a 7-pounder which turned out to be the biggest fish in the tournament,” said Gerrein. “I’d never used it before, but ended up culling everything I had. After all was said and done, I probably culled 15 times.
The Kentucky angler said his key to victory was finding the big gizzard shad that bass were feeding on.
“Everyone was flipping, but I was out there imitating the shad I found in practice,” said Gerrein. “That’s what pushed me to the top.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Chris Gerrein, Villa Hills, Ky., five bass, 23-2, $5,925 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 17-13, $2,157
3rd: Jason Cooper, Shelbyville, Tenn., five bass, 15-0, $1,439
4th: Marshall Deakins, Dunlap, Tenn., five bass, 14-5, $1,307
5th: Brett Graham, Cold Spring, Ky., five bass, 13-6, $863
6th: Barry Strunk, Science Hill, Ky., five bass, 12-14, $791
7th: Ryan Davidson, Branchland, W. Va., five bass, 12-13, $719
8th: Michael Emberton, Tompkinsville, Ky., five bass, 12-7, $611
8th: Mark Pierce, Cadiz, Ky., four bass, 12-7, $611
10th Todd Yocum, Harrodsburg, Ky., five bass, 12-6, $503
Gerrein also caught a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $610.
John Vice of Owingsville, Kentucky, weighed in five bass totaling 17 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,462.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: John Vice, Owingsville, Ky., five bass, 17-10, $2,462
2nd: Dustin Jones, Stanford, Ky., five bass, 13-1, $1,079
3rd: Don Carmack, Middlesboro, Ky., three bass, 10-12, $717
4th: Tony Baber, Dayton, Ohio, five bass, 10-6, $503
5th: Jason Stigall, Tateville, Ky., five bass, 10-3, $431
6th: Mike Morrison, Prestonsburg, Ky., three bass, 9-10, $396
7th: Timothy Ernst, Mount Eden, Ky., four bass, 7-9, $360
8th: Justin Sensabaugh, Byrdstown, Tenn., three bass, 6-15, $324
9th: Roger Crain, Louisville, Ky., two bass, 6-14, $288
10th: Jordan Pyles, Somerset, Ky., three bass, 6-11, $252
Vice also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $305.
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
