FLORENCE, Ala. (Oct. 2, 2010) - Pro Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the FLW American Fishing Series Southeast Division bass fishing tournament on Pickwick Lake with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 63 pounds, 9 ounces.
"It's been an exciting day," Haynes said. "Started out the day with my boat breaking down, but was able to catch a limit. I had a back-up plan in case anything went wrong and I am very fortunate to be here now.
"I had a really good practice, but the funny thing is that I didn't use any of those spots during the tournament. On Friday I came upon this area that just had a mother-load of fish, it was just exciting to be on it. I caught my limit there by about 11," Haynes went on to say. "I wanted to get there early this morning, but then my boat broke down. I got to the spot about mid morning and I saw them on my graph just laughing at me so I just started picking away at the spot and was able to get my limit.
"My main goal was just to get them fired-up and then I knew I could catch them. My main baits were a Strike King crankbait, a Strike King jig, and a Carolina rig with a brushhog."
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: William Davis, Sheffield, Ala., 15 bass, 53-2, $6,437
3rd: Kevin Snider, Elizabethtown, Ky., 15 bass, 45-14, $4,544
4th: Jade Keeton, Florence, Ala., 15 bass, 44-9, $3,787
5th: Michael Wooley, Collierville, Tenn., 15 bass, 44-4, $3,408
6th: Leon Williams, Fairdale, Ky., 15 bass, 44-3, $3,029
7th: Nathan Brewer, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-12, $2,651
8th: Adam Lynch, Hamilton, Ala., 15 bass, 38-14, $2,272
9th: Shawn Perrigo, Rienzi, Miss., 15 bass, 36-15, $1,893
10th: Erwin Cole, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 12 bass, 30-14, $1,515
Chris Weber of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday - a 7-pound, 4-ounce bass - that earned him the day's Big Bass award of $194.
Tripp Pittman of Holly Springs, Miss., won the Co-angler Division and $7,680 cash, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 39 pounds, 6 ounces.
Pittman said that he was using mostly spinnerbaits in grass to catch his limits. H was using a chatterbait to get his big fish, 6-13 was his big fish on Thursday and he had a 4-13 on Friday to keep him in the lead.
Pittman caught five bass weighing 15-9 Thursday while fishing with pro Craig Taylor of Tallahassee, Fla., to open the tournament in second place. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 11-4 to make the top-10 cut in first place while fishing with pro Reginald Pickett of Greensboro, N.C. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with five bass weighing 12-9 while fishing with Randy Haynes.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were:
2nd: Randy Miller, Athens, Ala., 15 bass, 36-15, $3,072
3rd: Craig Grubbs, Tishomingo, Miss., 15 bass, 34-9, $1,536
4th: Mitch Reynolds, Petal, Miss., 15 bass, 34, $1,344
5th: Anthony Goggins, Auburn, Ala., 13 bass, 33-9, $1,152
6th: Bill Kisiah, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 15 bass, 32-5, $960
7th: Daniel Hinkelman, Conyers, Ga., 13 bass, 32-3, $768
8th: Lyn Melton, Florence, Ala., 14 bass, 14, 30-13, $691
9th: Wendell Johnston, Belfast, Tenn., 11 bass, 25-11, $614
10th: Daniel Costley, Memphis, Tenn., 11 bass, 24-1, $538
Pittman, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday - a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass - that earned him the day's Big Bass award of $129.
The top pro and co-angler based on point standings from each of the FLW American Fishing Series divisions - Central, Northern, Southeast and Texas - will qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 50 pros and co-anglers from each division also qualify for the American Fishing Series Invitational on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., Nov. 4-6, with the winning pro and co-angler also advancing to the Forrest Wood Cup.