GLASGOW, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2018) – Boater Robert Reagan of Byrdstown, Tennessee, won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 7 ounces. For his win, Reagan took home $7,329. Reagan said he caught most of the fish he weighed on a homemade football-head jig with a Watermelon Meat-colored Strike King Rage Tail Craw trailer in 18 to 20 feet of water.
“I got on a shallow bite early in practice, so I went to the river Saturday but only caught one small fish by 1:30 p.m.,” said Reagan, who earned his fourth career win in BFL competition. “I ran back down to the main lake to the mid-lake area and ran some ledges. I marked fish and got four bites by the end of the day and they were the right ones.”
Reagan flipped shallow wood with a green-pumpkin Zoom Speed Craw with a 3/8-ounce weight to catch his keeper from the river.
“I returned to the same mid-lake area Sunday and caught two fish from a place I’d caught them Saturday, and the other two from ledges I hadn’t fished yet,” said Reagan. “I marked them and fished them with the same jig – I never laid it down. I lost my “fifth” a couple of times Sunday – it just didn’t get into the net.”
Reagan noted that his Lowrance electronics were essential to his win.
“I couldn’t have won without my Lowrance unit – they showed me the fish. I idled the ledges and when I‘d see them I’d stop the engine and cast in there. It seemed like I could catch them on a first or second cast.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Robert Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., nine bass , 30-7, $5,329 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Densmore Goodson, Letcher, Ky., 10 bass, 24-8, $2,664
3rd: James Copeland, Bowling Green, Ky., 10 bass, 24-8, $2,118
4th: Steve Whitaker, Scottsville, Ky., 10 bass, 23-13, $1,543
5th: Tim Akers, Richmond, Ky., 10 bass, 23-10, $1,407
6th: Mike Casada, Stearns, Ky., 10 bass, 22-7, $977
7th: Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., 10 bass, 21-6, $888
8th: Ryan White, Lancaster, Ky., nine bass, 21-0, $799
9th: Kenneth Patterson, Knifley, Ky., eight bass, 20-9, $910
10th: Bennie Mutter, Glasgow, Ky., nine bass, 20-4, $722
Copeland caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 8 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $341. Ed Bennington of Scottsville, Kentucky, caught a two-day total of eight bass weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,664.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Ed Bennington, Scottsville, Ky., eight bass, 23-5, $2,664
2nd: Tommy Glass, Verona, Ky., eight bass, 16-4, $1,532
3rd: Jason Ratcliff, Eubank, Ky., seven bass, 15-12, $939
4th: Doug Adkins, Gray Hawk, Ky., eight bass, 15-8, $622
5th: Andy Spencer, Glasgow, Ky., nine bass, 13-3, $533
6th: Matt Chiodi, West Chester, Ohio, seven bass , 13-1, $488
7th: Les Reeves, Rockholds, Ky., five bass, 12-5, $444
8th: Jonathan Sydnor, Canmer, Ky., four bass, 10-4, $400
9th: Bobby Arms, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 10-3, $355
10th: Bob Wiles, Huntington, W. Va., six bass, 10-3, $311
Nick Haunert of Maineville, Ohio, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 3 pounds, 7 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $341.