The first FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) LBL Division tournament of 2016 on Kentucky and Barkley lakes happened this past Saturday and the winner was David Young of Mayfield, Kentucky. He weighed a five-bass limit totaling 26 pounds, 1 ounce to win. For his victory, Young took home $9,235.
“I originally planned on fishing this event out deep, but the sun came out earlier than I expected so I had to adjust my strategy,” said Young, who earned his 10th career win in FLW competition. “With warmer water I knew the fish would be shallow, so I ended up hitting chunk rock along main-lake banks.
“I split my day between about 15 areas,” Young continued. “I’d catch a fish or two and then move on to more chunk rock. If you didn’t find similar rock in terms of size and depth, it was difficult to hook them.”
Young said he used one bait – a red Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap – to catch 10 keepers fairly consistently over the course of the day.
“I had to let it bump the rocks or else I wasn’t going to catch them,” said Young. “Once in a while I would avoid hitting them altogether and would reel fast to see if that technique was more efficient, but it never produced. For me, having the Trap deflect off of the rocks was what helped me edge out the rest of the field.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: David Young, Mayfield, Ky., five bass, 26-1, $7,235 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Sam Lashlee, Camden, Tenn., five bass, 20-13, $2,690
3rd: Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., five bass, 18-2, $2,094
4th: Gerald Andrews, Benton, Ky., five bass, 18-1, $1,165
4th: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., five bass, 18-1, $1,165
6th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 17-9, $986
7th: Matt Robertson, Central City, Ky., five bass, 17-6, $897
8th: Austin Brown, Benton, Ky., five bass, 17-2, $807
9th: Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., five bass, 16-9, $717
10th: Sam Boss, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 16-4, $628
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Young also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a largemouth weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $855.
William Hurd of Lexington, Kentucky, weighed in five bass totaling 19 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to earn $3,117 and win the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: William Hurd, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 19-11, $3,117
2nd: Michael Emberton, Tompkinsville, Ky., five bass, 16-11, $1,345
3rd: Trevor Gooch, Yuma, Tenn., five bass, 15-5, $899
4th: Jon Witt, Kalamazoo, Mich., four bass, 13-8, $628
5th: Brian Futch, Vienna, Ill., five bass, 12-7, $538
6th: Ricky Boehringer, Troy, Ohio, three bass, 12-6, $493
7th: Daniel Kroll, New Haven, Ky., four bass, 11-14, $448
8th: Neal Risley, Corydon, Ky., five bass , 11-9, $404
9th: Steve Kehrer, Woodlawn, Ill., four bass, 10-13, $359
10th: Larry Cundiff, Dunnville, Ky., five bass, 10-12, $314
Hurd also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $427.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.