BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (April 7, 2014) – Mitchell Major of Lancaster, Ky., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division tournament on Dale Hollow Lake. For his victory, Major earned $5,380. Major earned the first BFL win of his career by putting down the umbrella rig and throwing a jig for pre-spawn Dale Hollow bass. “It was an awesome, awesome weekend,” said Major. “It just worked out. I’ve had my chance to win before but it seems like I’ve lost fish or broken off fish. This weekend it was just meant to be. “I caught ‘em on a jig and a spinnerbait,” Major continued. “Every fish that I weighed in came on the jig. I was catching them on laydown logs in pockets off of Wolf River. “The key was making the right change,” explained Major. “I started out throwing an umbrella rig, because I didn’t want to get beat on it again. But I came to a laydown and picked up a jig and caught a 4-pounder. Then I moved a little way down the bank and did it again. So I just started throwing the jig and a spinnerbait for the rest of the time.” Major said all the fish he weighed in came on a 3/8-ounce D&L Tackle jig in the Cumberland Craw color. Rounding out the top 10 pros were: 2nd: James King, Monroe, Tenn., five bass, 19-13, $2,690 3rd: Matt Salmons, Bronston, Ky., five bass, 18-8, $1,794 4th: Jason Chasteen, Richmond, Ky., five bass, 18-5, $1,255 5th: Tyler Gregory, Pine Knot, Ky., five bass, 17-14, $1,031 5th: Barrett Moss, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 17-14, $1,031 7th: Joe Slagle, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 17-10, $897 8th: Mark Mauldin, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 17-6, $807 9th: Jeff Coots, Yeaddiss, Ky., five bass, 17-4, $717 10th: Jack Poindexter, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 17-3, $596 10th: HC Sumpter, Nancy, Ky., five bass, 17-3, $596
Michael Morris of McKee, Ky., weighed-in a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $2,636 in the co-angler division. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were: 2nd: Brian Copeland, Rickman, Tenn., five bass, 16-8, $1,318 3rd: Cody Loveless, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 15-8, $879 4th: Seth Graves, Tompkinsville, Ky., five bass, 14-8, $615 5th: Adam Frye, Burnside, Ky., five bass, 13-9, $527 6th: Jason Stigall, Tateville, Ky., five bass, 13-6, $483 7th: Phillip Brannum, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 13-5, $439 8th: Wendell Madewell, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 13-2, $395 9th: Dustin House, London, Ky., five bass, 13-1, $352 10th: Joe Wasson, Campbellsville, Ky., five bass, 12-9, $292 10th: Tim Kempf, Louisville, Ky., four bass, 12-9, $292 The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn. 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.