Mayo wins co-angler title
Cody Nichols of Fayette, Alabama, weighed in a two-day cumulative total of nine bass weighing 27 pounds, 14 ounces, to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mississippi Division Super Tournament on Pickwick Lake Sunday.. For his win, Nichols pocketed $7,883.
Nichols said he spent the tournament fishing grass on the north end of the lake.
“I had two main areas that I caught my fish from – a 50- and 200-yard stretch of mats,” said Nichols, who earned his first win BFL competition. “I mainly used a 6-inch Basstrix Paddle Tail Swimbait along the edges in 4 to 5 feet of water. I also weighed in one keeper Saturday punching a green-pumpkin Strike King Twin Tail Menace Grub.”
On Day One, Nichols caught the heaviest bass of the event – a 6-pound, 6-ouncer – off of the swimbait.
“I went outside of where I was catching them because I wanted to leave them alone for Sunday,” said Nichols. “I went down the mat, threw the Paddle Tail and caught it.”
Nichols said he returned to his two main stretches on Day Two, but only was able to catch four keepers – a far cry from the 40 he boated on Day One.
“I don’t know why there was such a drop off in the bites,” said Nichols. “I weighed in one on the Grub and the other three on the Paddle Tail. I didn’t think I had enough to win, but I got pretty lucky.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Cody Nichols, Fayette, Ala., nine bass, 27-14, $7,883
2nd: Cameron Gautney, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 10 bass, 27-9, $3,436
3rd: Charles Watts, Corinth, Miss., 10 bass, 27-7, $2,290
4th: Roger Stegall, Iuka, Miss., 10 bass, 25-3, $1,603
5th: Brandon Perkins, Counce, Tenn., 10 bass, 24-9, $1,574
6th: Strike King Lures pro Michael Wooley, Collierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 24-6, $1,260
7th: Michael Roach, Olive Branch, Miss., 10 bass, 24-4, $1,145
8th: Jeffery Moore, Ripley, Miss., 10 bass, 24-3, $1,031
9th: Craig Grubbs, Tishomingo, Miss., 10 bass, 24-1, $1,016
10th: Dennis Perrigo, Rienzi, Miss., 10 bass, 23-4, $802
Nichols’ 6-pound, 6-ounce bass earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $1,012.
Craig Mayo of Corinth, Mississippi, won the co-angler division and earned $3,372 with a two-day cumulative catch of seven bass weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Craig Mayo, Corinth, Miss., seven bass, 21-2, $3,372
2nd: Jennings Earnest, Guin, Ala., eight bass, 19-14, $1,886
3rd: Stephen Brown, Arlington, Tenn., six bass, 18-3, $1,121
4th: Mike Mallett, Walls, Miss., eight bass, 17-10, $787
5th: Sank Payton, Bay Springs, Miss., seven bass, 16-12, $1,158
6th: Justin Thomas, Braxton, Miss., seven bass, 16-7, $668
7th: David Best, Bartlett, Tenn., eight bass, 16-6, $562
8th: Don Meyerett, Olive Branch, Miss., eight bass, 16-6, $506
9th: Hunter Miles, Collinsville, Miss., six bass, 15-14, $450
10th: John Swords, Collierville, Tenn., six bass, 14-6, $393
Payton caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $484.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 27-29 Regional Championship on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas. 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. The 2017 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 3 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. 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, South Korea and South Africa. 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
