Swaim wins co-angler title
Andy Burgess of Greenville, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 14 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division Super Tournament on Lake Keowee, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 3 ounces. For his win, Burgess took home $4,931.
“I caught seven keepers on Day One fishing mid-lake docks,” said Burgess, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “I probably hit 40 of them. They were shallow and on sandy flats. It was sunny, so bass were seeking shade under them. That was crucial – the docks had to be on sandy flats and providing shade.”
Burgess said he used a bream-colored swimjig, and caught his entire limit from the docks.
“On Sunday I started running the same pattern, but I couldn’t get a bite,” said Burgess. “I proceeded to the north end of the lake and ran along banks with chunk and natural rock using a bream-colored Greenfish Tackle Prop Bait.”
Burgess said he hit 40 to 50 areas, stopping to fish 30-yard stretches before moving on.
“It was cloudy, so the bass weren’t positioned and it was hard to pinpoint them,” said Burgess. “That’s why I had to keep running. I ended up catching 10 keepers.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Andy Burgess, Greenville, S.C., 10 bass, 27-3, $4,931
2nd: Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 10 bass, 26-6, $3,258
3rd: Brock Taylor, Pendleton, S.C., 10 bass, 24-10, $1,644
4th: Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 23-13, $1,151
5th: Jeremy Strong, Elberton, Ga., 10 bass, 23-0, $1,286
6th: Greg Willimon, Pickens, S.C., 10 bass, 22-7, $904
7th: Tra Dumit, Greenville, S.C., nine bass, 21-4, $822
8th: B.J. Ballard, Abbeville, S.C., 10 bass, 20-7, $840
9th: Ronnie Wald, Seneca, S.C., 10 bass, 20-1, $657
10th: Todd Goade, Suwanee, Ga., 10 bass, 17-11, $575
Robinson caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $592.
Chad Swaim of Cumming, Georgia, won the co-angler division and earned $2,466 with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Chad Swaim, Cumming, Ga., 10 bass, 12-7, $2,466
2nd: Blake Rowland, Hartwell, Ga., six bass, 11-8, $1,433
3rd: Kevin Dye, West Union, S.C., seven bass, 11-6, $823
4th: Conner Giella, Lincolnton, Ga., five bass, 10-15, $575
5th: Brandon Brock, Honea Path, S.C., six bass, 10-15, $543
6th: Erik Faulk, Lyman, S.C., five bass, 8-14, $452
7th: Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., eight bass, 8-14, $411
8th: Ronnie Cutshall, Piedmont, S.C., four bass, 7-9, $666
9th: Eduardo Pabon, Gainesville, Ga., three bass, 6-0, $329
10th: Tony Everhart, Gaffney, S.C., three bass, 5-13, $288
Cutshall caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $296.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North 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
