Georgia’s Wood tops co-anglers
Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, extended his lead on Day Two of the BFL All-American on Lake Barkley with a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces, good for a two-day cumulative of 10 bass weighing 33-2. The tournament now heads into the final day of competition with the boater and co-angler fields being cut to the final 10 in the three-day event. Lawyer will enter the final day with a 4-pound, 5-ounce lead over second-place angler Drew Boggs of Lebanon, Tennessee, who has a two-day catch of 10 bass totaling 28-13.

Hosted by Cadiz-Trigg County Tourism, the BFL All-American features the top 49 boaters and top 49 co-anglers from across the 24-division BFL circuit and the TBF National Championship casting for cash prizes of up to $120,000 in the Boater Division and $60,000 in the Co-angler Division, plus an opportunity to compete for the Forrest Wood Cup Aug. 4-7 on Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama.
“I can’t express how it feels to be going into the final day of this tournament leading the field,” said Lawyer, who finished second at the All-American last year. “I’m happy that I backed up what I caught yesterday with another five today. I’ve got my head in the right spot.
“I can’t put my finger on what made them bite,” Lawyer continued. “I only stopped at around 25 areas compared to the 50 I hit yesterday, and only made it half way to Dover (Tennessee). I thought it would pay off to fish slower, but I didn’t get any more bites.”
Lawyer said that his limit came from a wide variety of cover and structure.
“It’s still all about timing out there,” said Lawyer. “My first bite wasn’t until 10:30 a.m., but it turned out to be the biggest of the day – a 5-pounder. After that I ran around and hit some main-river stuff and caught a small keeper flipping shallow wood. There weren’t any other fish around it, though. I caught another keeper on a shallow crankbait before fishing stuff I thought the current would have an influence on, but it didn’t produce anything. Near the end of the day I nabbed my fifth keeper on a stretch that I stopped at by chance. I was lucky to have a limit.”
Looking ahead to the final day, the Missouri pro said he’s ready to give it his best effort.
“I’m going all in,” said Lawyer. “I’m going to throw all the cards in the middle and not leave any stone unturned. All I need is some more bites in the morning and I should be good. I’ll probably be using five rods and will do what I can do to get five bass in the boat by the end of the day.”
The top 10 boaters advancing to the final day of competition on Lake Barkley are:
1st: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 33-2
2nd: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-13
3rd: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, 10 bass, 28-9
4th: Clabion Johns, Covington, Ga., 10 bass, 27-10
5th: Todd Walters, Kernersville, N.C., 10 bass, 27-9
6th: John Vanore, Mullica Hill, N.J., 10 bass, 27-3
7th: Nelson Walker, Manning, S.C., 10 bass, 26-15
8th: Jim Eakin, Clarksville, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-14
9th: Mike Devere, Berea, Ky., nine bass, 26-13
9th: Thomas Helton, Charleston, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-13
Adam Wood of Guyton, Georgia, leads the co-angler division with a two-day total of seven bass weighing 20 pounds even, followed by Mike Allen of Crystal Springs, Mississippi, in second place with six bass weighing 18-6.
The top 10 co-anglers are:
1st: Adam Wood, Guyton, Ga., seven bass, 20-0
2nd: Mike Allen, Crystal Springs, Miss., six bass, 18-6
3rd: John Duarte, Middle River, Md., seven bass, 16-7
4th: Wesley Smith, Vinemont, Ala., seven bass, 16-5
4th: Randy Smith, Fayetteville, Ga., six bass, 16-5
6th: Marvin Reese, Gwynn Oak, Md., seven bass, 15-14
7th: Bill Haunert, Blue Ash, Ohio, six bass, 13-13
8th: Jamie Eynard, Holts Summit, Mo., five bass, 12-15
9th: John Wilkerson, Nashville, Tenn., four bass, 12-3
10th: Jesse Parks, Avondale, Ariz., five bass, 11-14
Anglers will take off from the Lake Barkley State Resort Park Marina located at 4200 State Park Road in Cadiz at 7 a.m. CDT Saturday morning. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held in conjunction with the FLW Tour weigh-in at Kentucky Dam Village State Park, located at 7792 U.S. Highway 641 N. in Gilbertsville, Kentucky, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
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.
Coverage of the 2016 BFL All-American will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Oct. 5 from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. EDT. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
About Fishing League Worldwide (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
