Kraft wins co-angler title
Robert Mixon of Lexington, North Carolina, weighed in a two-day cumulative total of 10 bass totaling 33 pounds, 14 ounces, to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division Super Tournament on High Rock Lake. Mixon took home $7,316 for his efforts.
“I started out throwing crankbaits along rocky banks Saturday but couldn’t get a bite,” said Mixon, who logged his first win in BFL competition. “I arrived at a pier and decided to run a black Zoom Magnum Trick Worm. I caught a 5-pound bass at the first pier, and a 4-pounder from the second.
“By 11 a.m., the pier bite had slowed down, so I went out to some main-lake points in about 8 to 9 feet of water,” Mixon continued. “I used a green-pumpkin Trick Worm and hit about a dozen different points. I was able to catch three more keepers, including another 5-pounder. Those five bites were the only bites I had all day.”
On Sunday, Mixon said he returned to the piers and caught three keepers on the green-pumpkin Trick Worm. Around noon, he headed back out to the main-lake points to round out his limit.
“My last bite was at 1 p.m., and I brought in what I had,” said Mixon. “They weren’t as big as they were Saturday, but my spots still produced.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Robert Mixon, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 33-14, $5,316 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: James Blankenship, Siler City, N.C., 10 bass, 31-10, $2,958
3rd: David Wright, Lexington, N.C., nine bass, 28-1, $1,774
4th: Cole Blythe, Charlotte, N.C., 10 bass, 27-11, $1,440
5th: John Farmer, Sherrills Ford, N.C., nine bass, 26-10, $1,163
6th: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., nine bass, 26-5, $975
7th: Steve Sink, Winston-Salem, N.C., eight bass, 25-9, $886
8th: Thomas Jones, Kannapolis, N.C., nine bass, 25-2, $797
9th: Jeremy Talbert, Albemarle, N.C., 10 bass, 24-5, $709
10th: Israel Gibson, Spruce Pine, N.C., nine bass, 24-1, $620
David Williams of Maiden, North Carolina, caught a bass weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $667.
Louis Kraft of Salisbury, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and earned $2,658 with a two-day cumulative catch of seven bass weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Louis Kraft, Salisbury, N.C., seven bass, 19-5, $2,658
2nd: Tod Haynes, Concord, N.C., eight bass, 18-13, $1,429
3rd: Jeff Scism, Shelby, N.C., six bass, 16-11, $936
4th: Mike Burgess, Advance, N.C., five bass, 12-9, $620
5th: Bobby Williams, Salisbury, N.C., four bass, 11-13, $532
6th: Weston Lineberry, Troy, N.C., five bass, 11-6, $487
7th: Kalin Cline, Mount Holly, N.C., four bass, 11-2, $443
8th: Caleb Lynch, Mount Holly, N.C., four bass, 11-1, $733
9th: Kurt Moser, Max Meadows, Va., four bass, 10-11, $354
10th: Nikki Hames, Gaffney, S.C., four bass, 9-14, $310
Lynch caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $334.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 27-29 Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South 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. 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
