Brady wins co-angler title
Tim Hicks of Kingsport, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the second FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division tournament of 2016 on South Holston Reservoir. For his victory, Hicks took home $7,119.
Hicks said he concentrated on mid-lake points using a Texas-rigged, 4½-inch green-pumpkin-colored Roboworm Straight Tail Worm. He said he fished slowly while working his way along 50-yard stretches.
“I wanted to get the worm down into the 12-foot range,” said Hicks, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “The bass were a lot closer to the points this year than in the past, and I don’t think a lot of competitors noticed that. That was a big deal.”
Hicks said he fished nearly 25 points, citing their location as a key part of his pattern.
“On the upper end of Holston, the bigger fish have already spawned, but down south they haven’t even started,” said Hicks. “That’s why the mid-lake areas were so ripe. The shallower, longer points with rocks were the most productive.”
The Tennessee angler went on to say that he caught approximately 12 keepers over the course of the event.
“The majority of my fish came later in the day,” said Hicks. “On sunny days, the big ones come up in the afternoon during the spawn. All I needed to do was be up close to them.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Tim Hicks, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 21-6, $5,119 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Brandon Booher, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 20-9, $2,059
3rd: Bryan Leonard, Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 20-6, $1,374
4th: Corey Cook, Delbarton, W. Va., five bass, 20-4, $961
5th: Rod Grayson, Bristol, Va., five bass, 19-7, $789
5th: Doug Burke, Castlewood, Va., five bass, 19-7, $1,354
7th: Doug Austin, Bristol, Va., five bass, 19-3, $686
8th: Larry Neal, Piney Flats, Tenn., five bass, 18-10, $918
9th: Brandon Stanley, Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 18-1, $549
10th: Jonathan Bowling, Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 18-0, $480
Burke caught a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $565.
Steven Brady of Woodlawn, Virginia, weighed in five bass totaling 21 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to earn $1,940 and win the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Steven Brady, Woodlawn, Va., five bass, 21-5, $1,940
2nd: Stephen Patterson, Marion, Va., five bass, 20-11, $970
3rd: Joseph Renfro, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 17-13, $646
4th: Andy Francis, Abingdon, Va., five bass, 17-12, $453
5th: Donnie Holder, Mooresburg, Tenn., five bass, 17-11, $388
6th: Jeff Green, Pennington Gap, Va., five bass, 16-8, $356
7th: Kelsey Harvey, Jonesborough, Tenn., five bass, 15-15, $323
8th: Nick Coker, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $291
9th: Don Bible II, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 14-15, $259
10th: Michael Johnson, Bristol, Va., five bass, 14-14, $226
Wayne Musick of Lebanon, Virginia, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 6 pounds even and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $257.
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
