EUFAULA, Ala. (Sept. 12, 2016) – Local angler Dustin Wood of Eufaula, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 10 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bulldog Division Super Tournament on Lake Eufaula, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 3 ounces. For his win, Wood took home $5,660. Wood said he threw a Strikezone Deep Daddy Crankbait to mid-lake stumps and brush on Day One. He said he covered as much water as he could, sometimes casting only twice before moving on to the next area.
“I did a lot of idling and looking,” said Wood, who also won the BFL Bama Division Super Tournament, held on Lake Eufaula two weeks ago. “When I saw something, I focused on nearby stumps, brush, or any irregular structure. The weather was cloudy with a little bit of wind and fog. I think the light wind helped out the cranking bite.”
Wood said he ended up catching seven keepers on Day One.
“On Day Two it was sunny, so I decided to go with a worm,” said Wood. “I picked up a Strikezone Shake Up Head rigged with a green-pumpkin Strikezone Needle Worm and fished it really slow. I threw it to isolated stumps and brush piles and put six keepers in the boat.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Dustin Wood, Eufaula, Ala., 10 bass, 28-3, $5,660
2nd: Mike Cavender, Phenix City, Ala., 10 bass, 26-4, $2,730
3rd: Al Cleghorn, Fitzgerald, Ga., eight bass, 23-4, $2,532
4th: Terry Stevens, Marianna, Fla., 10 bass, 21-13, $1,274
5th: Bradley Enfinger, Colquitt, Ga., 10 bass, 21-7, $1,092
6th: Michael Conley, Bainbridge, Ga., nine bass, 21-0, $1,001
7th: Scott Montgomery, Eufaula, Ala., seven bass, 19-12, $910
8th: Rob Jordan, Flowery Branch, Ga., seven bass, 18-11, $819
9th: Miles Burghoff, Santa Cruz, Calif., six bass, 18-9, $828
10th: John Duvall, Madison, Ga., seven bass, 14-7, $637
Cleghorn caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $712. Ken Smith of Lula, Georgia, won the co-angler division and earned $2,930 with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Ken Smith, Lula, Ga., 10 bass, 21-2, $2,930
2nd: Irby Allen, Leesburg, Ga., six bass, 17-8, $1,415
3rd: Tony DiMauro, Watkinsville, Ga., eight bass, 16-7, $909
4th: Jacob Thompson, Monroe, Ga., four bass, 14-9, $637
5th: Ben-Oni Maldonado, Covington, Ga., five bass, 14-5, $902
6th: Daniel Tuten, Byron, Ga., five bass, 10-3, $501
7th: Jason Yawn, LaGrange, Ga., five bass, 9-15, $455
8th: Reese Kingston, Villa Rica, Ga., five bass, 9-11, $410
9th: Dave Altman, Lawrenceville, Ga., five bass, 9-8, $364
10th: Deron Burdette, Fayetteville, Ga., three bass, 9-1, $319
Maldonado caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $356.