KODAK, Tenn. (May 20, 2013) – Travis Lilly of Bluff City, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 24 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division tournament on Douglas Lake. For his victory, Lilly earned $3,545.
“It was one of those days when everything fell in place,” said Lilly. “I didn’t lose any fish and things went right. I bounced around the lake a little bit but all of the fish that I brought to the scale came from the same area. I started the day and finished the day in the same place.”
Lilly indicated that he was targeting post-spawn bass that had moved out on to points. He was primarily using swimbaits indicating that color really wasn’t a factor in catching his bass.
“It was actually kind of funny,” Lilly went on to say. “When I went back to the area I started in there was a boat sitting on that point. I asked him if he would mind if I fished the spot and he said no that he had already fished it. A couple of casts later I landed my biggest fish of the day, a 6 ½-pounder.
“This is the first time that I have committed to fishing off-shore and it actually went well.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Sam McCowan, Pounding Mill, Va., five bass, 22-7, $1,773
3rd: Bobby Ferguson, Chuckey, Tenn., four bass, 21-13, $1,181
4th: Nick Meadows, Cedar Bluff, Va., five bass, 20-8, $827
5th: Gary Pilkenton, Morristown, Tenn., five bass, 19-15, $709
6th: Tim Saylor, Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 19-12, $650
7th: Derrick Snavely, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 18-11, $591
8th: Guy Sams, Elizabethton, Tenn., five bass, 18-7, $532
9th: Ken Vicchio, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 17-12, $473 plus $300 Evinrude bonus
10th: Daniel Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 17-6, $414
Justin McGaha of Knoxville, Tenn., weighed five bass totaling 14 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division. McGaha earned $1,773 for his victory. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Dennis Lewis, Powell, Tenn., five bass, 14-0, $886
3rd: Jason Yates, Dandridge, Tenn., five bass, 12-14, $591
4th: Bud McKelvey, Lenoir City, Tenn., five bass, 12-6, $384
4th: Sam Overton, Heiskell, Tenn., five bass, 12-6, $384
6th: Jonathan Saddler, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 12-5, $325
7th: Matt Brown, Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 11-7, $295
8th: Eric Topole, Corryton, Tenn., five bass, 10-12, $266
9th: Chris Seese, Lenoir City, Tenn., three bass, 10-11, $236
10th: Rob Linkous, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 10-6, $207
The next BFL Volunteer Division tournament is scheduled for June 8 on Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Lavonia, Ga. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.