Grizzle wins co-angler title
Byron Kenney of Griffin, Georgia, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 14 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division Super Tournament on Lake Oconee with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 15 ounces. For his victory, Kenney earned $5,126.
“My strategy for this tournament was different from what I’ve done on this lake in the past,” said Kenney of his second career win in FLW competition. “I basically put my trolling motor down and fished as many docks as I could.
“I started at mid-lake areas on day one and worked my way south,” continued Kenney. “I targeted seawalls in the morning and docks for the remainder of the day using a green-pumpkin jig with a green-pumpkin Strike King Rage Craw as a trailer. I ended up weighing nine of my 10 bass that I brought to the scale off of it.”
Kenney said he followed a similar pattern on day two but focused on different areas of the lake.
“I caught nearly 10 keepers each day, but lost a few good bass as well,” said Kenney. “I thought the misses might cost me the tournament, but luckily, they didn’t.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Byron Kenney, Griffin, Ga., 10 bass, 29-15, $5,126
2nd: Michael Conley, Bainbridge, Ga., 10 bass, 27-3, $2,563
3rd: Mark Holloway, Madison, Ga., 10 bass, 22-1, $1,709
4th: Kip Carter, Social Circle, Ga., 10 bass, 21-15, $1,196
5th: Wendell Grantham, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 20-9, $1,025
6th: Grant Kelly, Milledgeville, Ga., 10 bass, 20-8, $940
7th: Allen Armour, Cumming, Ga., seven bass, 17-2, $854
8th: David Millsaps, Ranger, Ga., eight bass, 17-0, $769
9th: Robert Dees, Bonaire, Ga., eight bass, 16-11, $683
10th: Jimmy Little, Macon, Ga., seven bass, 15-7, $598
Kenney also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday. The fish weighed 6 pounds even and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $630.
Harold Grizzle of Gainesville, Georgia, won the co-angler division and $2,563 with a two-day total of seven bass weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., seven bass, 15-12, $2,563
2nd: Michael Wright, Covington, Ga., five bass, 12-9, $1,281
3rd: Jacob Thompson, Milledgeville, Ga., eight bass, 12-1, $853
4th: Jamie Brett, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 10-15, $598
5th: Erik Green, Tallahassee, Fla., four bass, 10-13, $513
6th: Thom Dickson, Cartersville, Ga., five bass, 10-10, $470
7th: Robert Fleming, McDonough, Ga., five bass, 10-5, $427
8th: Jamie Amerson, Savannah, Ga., four bass, 7-11, $384
9th: Jordan McDonald, Jackson, Ga., three bass, 7-1, $342
10th: Mike Mahady, Kennesaw, Ga., four bass, 5-12, $299
Daulton Smith of Dacula, Georgia, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $315.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Alabama. 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 compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
