Boater Jake Lawrence of Paris, Tennessee, won the Costa FLW Series at Lake Barkley presented by T-H Marine Saturday after bringing a limit of bass weighing 19 pounds, 11 ounces to the scale. Lawrence’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 72-4 gave him the win by a 7-pound, 5-ounce margin and earned him the top prize of $48,300.
Lawrence said that he knew most of the bass would be located offshore on the deeper ledges, where they would be easy to locate but challenging to catch. He also knew the early combination of heavy rain and high water coupled with the strong current would send some fish seeking shallower cover. That’s where he trained his efforts; specifically an area near the mouth of a small creek south of the Highway 79 bridge.
Lawrence was targeting fish in the 8-12 foot zone. He primarily threw a 10-inch V&M J-Mag Worm in red bug (either on a Neko Rig or a swing head), but he says he also caught fish on a Scrounger with a Castaic Jerky J, as well as a custom-made hair jig, a football jig and a spoon.
Most of Lawrence’s fish came each morning from the same area following a nearly 90-minute run from the Lake Barkley State Park launch site. The day one morning result was a fantastic 28-pound 15-ounce limit. He collected a 21-10 limit on day two. On day three he had a winning limit in the boat by 7:30 and caught his last fish around 11 o’clock.
“Conditions are changing,” he said. “This was about the last day of it. I’m glad it lasted as long as it did.”
The top 10 pros on Lake Barkley finished:
1st: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 15 bass, 72-4, $48,300
2nd: Garrett Paquette, Canton, Mich., 15 bass, 64-15, $18,500
3rd: Mike Roller, Purdy, Mo., 15 bass, 58-10, $13,500
4th: Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 57-7, $11,600
5th: Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., 15 bass, 55-9, $10,500
6th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 55-8, $8,750
7th: Brandon Hunter, Benton, Ky., 14 bass, 54-13, $7,600
8th: Cody Harrison, Tuscumbia, Ala., 13 bass, 52-11, $6,600
9th: Adam Craig, Buchanan, Tenn., 12 bass, 44-6, $5,600
10th: Stacey King, Reeds Spring, Mo., 12 bass, 41-10, $4,300
Lawrence caught an 8-pound, 8-ounce bass Thursday – the biggest of the tournament – and also earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $300.
Hunter Fillmore of Waynesville, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower outboard motor with a three-day total of 11 bass weighing 37 pounds, 8 ounces. Brian Peterson of Clarksville, Tennessee, finished runner-up with 11 bass weighing 37-1, good for $5,750.
The top 10 Co-anglers on Lake Barkley finished:
1st: Hunter Fillmore, Waynesville, Ohio, 11 bass, 37-8, Ranger Z175 boat with 90-horsepower outboard
2nd: Brian Peterson, Clarksville, Tenn., 11 bass, 37-1, $5,750
3rd: Douglas Colson, Cadiz, Ky., 13 bass, 36-0, $4,650
4th: Mark Howard, Mesquite, Texas, 10 bass, 35-11, $4,000
5th: Ben Jackson, Paducah, Ky., 10 bass, 30-3, $3,300
6th: Christopher Lemon, Mooresville, Ind., nine bass, 30-1, $2,800
7th: Rick Parker, Kaufman, Texas, nine bass, 26-4, $2,300
8th: Michael Allbright, Athens, Texas, nine bass, 26-0, $1,900
9th: John Magness, Hot Springs, Ark., seven bass, 25-4, $1,560
10th: Adam Lock, Metropolis, Ill., five bass, 19-4, $1,310
Howard caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a bass weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces that earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $200.
The Costa FLW Series on Lake Barkley presented by T-H Marine was hosted by the Cadiz-Trigg County Tourist and Convention Commission. It was the second of three regular-season FLW Series Central Division tournament in the 2018 season. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be a Northern Division tournament, held June 21-23 on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, New York presented by Power-Pole.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 1-3 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com.
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 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. 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: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
