SPARTA, Tenn. (June 11, 2018) – Boater Matt Stanley of Alexandria, Tennessee, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Music City Division tournament on Center Hill Lake. For his efforts, Stanley took home $2,748.
“I caught my fish deep in over 20 feet of water,” said Stanley, who logged his fourth career win in BFL competition. “I mostly fished rocky drop-offs and brush piles and caught around 18 keepers. I had confidence in the spots from living on the lake. That helped more than anything.”
Stanley said he made around 40 stops throughout his day, fishing between the takeoff ramp and the dam. He said he used a Green Gizzard Shad-colored Strike King 10XD crankbait and a ¾-ounce tungsten Picasso football-head jig with a homemade skirt and a green-pumpkin-colored Xcite Baits Raptor Tail Jr. trailer.
“I’d stop for 15 minutes or so to see if they were biting or not. If I did find a school and caught one or two I’d have to leave anyways because I’d pull them off the spot and wouldn’t get bit after that,” said Stanley. “My iROD Fred's Crank Launcher rod was key for me. It was able to withstand the weight of the 10XD and cast it a mile.”
Stanley said his local knowledge really paid off when it came to understanding how the boat traffic affects the fishing.
“A lake that deep doesn’t have a lot of current, so I looked for areas that had a lot of pleasure boaters,” said Stanley. “They disturb the water and I think that pulls the fish out deep.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 19-10, $2,748
2nd: Chris Holland, Winchester, Tenn., five bass, 16-15, $1,274
3rd: Josh Tramel, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 16-11, $948
4th: Matthew Bouldin, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 16-4, $594
5th: Jay Melton, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 15-12, $510
6th: William Merrick, Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 13-14, $467
7th: Brandon Maynard, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 13-11, $425
8th: Cornell Creciun III, Nolensville, Tenn., five bass, 13-4, $382
9th: Jayson Johnson, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 13-3, $340
10th: Terry Steele, Sparta, Tenn., five bass, 12-0, $297
Ben Ballou of Lafayette, Tennessee, brought a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $265. Justin Saling of Smyrna, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $1,326 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Justin Saling, Smyrna, Tenn., five bass, 11-3, $1,326
2nd: Jacob Frawley, Searcy, Ark., five bass, 10-3, $663
3rd: Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., five bass, 9-8, $409
4th: Brent Saxon, Woodstock, Ga., four bass, 9-7, $286
5th: Ryan Heilmann, Manchester, Tenn., four bass, 8-14, $245
6th: Taylor Wisniewski, Lexington, Ky., three bass, 8-4, $225
7th: Charlie Caplinger, Smithville, Tenn., three bass, 8-1, $204
8th: Jake May, La Vergne, Tenn., two bass, 7-5, $173
8th: Randy Hill, Athens, Ala., five bass, 7-5, $173
10th: Brandon Davis, Canton, Ga., four bass, 6-4, $143
Brandon Russell of Smyrna, Tennessee, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 4 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $127.