Boggs wins co-angler title
Mark Pierce of Cadiz, Kentucky, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division tournament of 2015 on the Barren River. For his victory, Pierce earned $4,729.
“For me, this tournament was about patience and instinct,” said Pierce, who earned the first victory of his career after two previous top-10 finishes in BFL competition. “I didn’t get any decent bites until after 8 a.m. and even then they were sporadic.”
Using a sexy shad-colored Strike King Pro Model 6XD Silent Crankbait, Pierce caught three keepers at an offshore rock patch in approximately 12 feet of water.
“It wasn’t a big school, but the bass were good sized,” Pierce said. “I’m a firm believer that silent baits perform the best on this lake when the fish are postspawn.”
Around 10:30, Pierce ran to a mid-lake point where he casted a Strike King 10XD Crankbait and pulled in a 4-pounder. To cap off his stringer, Pierce said he finished his day targeting areas near the Barren River Dam with a blueback herring-colored Big Bite Baits BB Kicker Swimbait.
“I truly believe that my knowledge of fish activity on this lake served me better than my electronics,” Pierce concluded. “Sometimes history is a better indicator of behavior.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Mark Pierce, Cadiz, Ky., five bass, 19-14, $4,729
2nd: Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., five bass, 19-4, $2,364
3rd: Jason Bean, Scottsville, Ky., five bass, 18-2, $1,576
4th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 17-0, $1,103
5th: Steve Cornett, Manchester, Ky., five bass, 16-10, $946
6th: Jason Cooper, Shelbyville, Tenn., five bass, 16-9, $867
7th: Dwight Fox, Gainesboro, Tenn., five bass, 16-4, $788
8th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., five bass, 15-14, $709
9th: Danny Davis, Scottsville, Ky., five bass, 15-9, $631
10th: Flint Fivecoait, Corbin, Ky., five bass, 15-8, $552
Fox and T.J. McDonald of Prestonsburg, Kentucky, tied for the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division. Both caught fish weighing 5 pounds, 2 ounces to split the Big Bass Award and each earn $352.
Michael Boggs of Lily, Kentucky, weighed in five bass totaling 16 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $2,364 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Michael Boggs, Lily, Ky., five bass, 16-7, $2,364
2nd: Brett Graham, Cold Spring, Ky., five bass, 14-15, $1,182
3rd: Tracy Helton, London, Ky., five bass, 13-14, $788
4th: Steve Ward, Simpsonville, Ky., five bass, 13-0, $552
5th: Jake Cross, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $473
6th: Timothy Ernst, Mount Eden, Ky., five bass, 12-3, $433
7th: Chad Stephens, Stearns, Ky., five bass, 12-0, $374
7th: Codie Trone, Berea, Ky., five bass, 12-0, $374
9th: Fred Moore, Hazard, Ky., four bass, 11-4, $295
9th: Jason Ratcliff, Eubank, Ky., five bass, 11-4, $295
Steve Kellam of Crittenden, Kentucky, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $352.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 15-17 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. 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
