SPARTA, Tenn. (April 28, 2014) – Adam Wagner of Cookeville, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Music City Division tournament on Center Hill Lake. For his victory, Wagner earned $4,296.
“My BFL win on Lake Guntersville last year was my favorite victory, but this one was special because it was on my home lake,” said Wagner, who earned his ninth career victory in FLW competition and pushed his career earnings over the $300,000 mark.
“I started out bed fishing for largemouth,” explained Wagner. “I think I caught four fish off of thier beds fairly early, but I had a couple more found that I couldn’t get to bite. Around 10:30 a.m. I started dragging a Carolina rig for smallmouth. I was fishing in areas that had pea gravel mixed with a little bit of rock. You couldn’t see them but I’m sure a lot of them were on beds.”
Wagner said that his five-bass limit consisted of three smallmouth and two largemouth bass. He used a Zorro shaky-head rigged with a Yamamoto Kut Tail worm to catch the largemouth and a Carolina-rigged Zoom Lizard with a 7-foot long leader for his smallmouth. Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Josh Tramel, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 17-14, $1,648
3rd: Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 16-7, $1,099
4th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-0, $769
5th: Tim Staley, Dowelltown, Tenn., five bass, 15-0, $659
6th: Brandon Tramel, Smithville, five bass, 14-14, $604
7th: Anthony Nash, Quebeck, Tenn., five bass, 14-13, $521
7th: Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., five bass, 14-13, $521
9th: Craig Dowling, Franklin, Tenn., five bass, 14-6, $439
10th: James Byrd, Florence, Ala., five bass, 13-11, $385
Randy Hill of Murfreesboro, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win $1,648 in the co-angler division. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Mark Joines, McMinnville, Tenn., four bass, 10-15, $824
3rd: Dane Gamble, La Vergne, Tenn., five bass, 9-7, $549
4th: Charles Rutherford, Moro, Ill., five bass, 9-2, $357
4th: Chris Tarpley, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 9-2, $357
6th: David Welcher, Burns, Tenn., five bass, 9-1, $302
7th: Ryan Benson, Pinson, Tenn., four bass, 8-5, $275
8th: Ryan Enko, Murfreesboro, Tenn., four bass, 8-4, $233
8th: Andrew Rice, Mt. Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 8-4, $233
10th: Robert Wade, Jackson, Mo., three bass, 7-14, $182
10th: Justin White, Morristown, Tenn., three bass, 7-14, $182
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.