CREEDMOOR, N.C. (July 21, 2014) – Michael Corbishley of Greenville, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division tournament on Falls Lake. For his victory, Corbishley earned $3,255.
“It feels great to win,” said Corbishley, a member of the East Carolina University College Fishing team. “This was actually my first BFL event as a boater.
“In practice I was targeting rock piles that had a ton of bait fish with brush around them,” said Corbishley. “I was throwing a lot of moving baits in practice, but they wouldn’t touch them in the tournament.”
Corbishley said that his morning patterns didn’t produce as planned so he decided to move up the lake to a few key offshore areas around 11 a.m.
“I got up there and the sun came out and as soon as it did they started chewing,” Corbishley said. “I was fishing a Hawgset Lures Mollywhopper on a Chompers Wobble Head Football Jig. I would cast it out and drag it back really slowly until it hit a stump. Then I would pop it over the stump and let it sit and the bass would grab it. They were biting it very lightly – it was just a little tick and a mushy feeling.
“My spots were offshore,” explained Corbishley. “They were in 8 to 12 feet of water, and I was sitting in about 15 feet of water casting up. The key was that they were not directly on the main-river channel so they didn’t get as much pressure.”
Corbishley said he caught most of his fish on the Hawgset Lures Mollywhopper and a few on a Spro Little John crankbait. He credited his JB Custom Rods King Snake as being key for feeling the light bites on his soft plastic.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Tim Emery, Creedmoor, N.C., four bass, 15-8, $1,356
2nd: Marty Warren, Elon, N.C., five bass, 15-8, $1,356
4th: Todd Harris, Clemmons, N.C., five bass, 14-9, $760
5th: Bobby Matthews, Durham, N.C., three bass, 13-5, $651
6th: Mike Stephenson, Bahama, N.C., four bass, 13-3, $597
7th: Ben Cannon, Apex, N.C., five bass, 12-6, $543
8th: Neal Ferrell, Myrtle Beach, S.C., four bass, 12-4, $461
8th: Thomas Sheffer, Cary, N.C., five bass, 12-4, $461
10th: Greg Lahr, Fayetteville, N.C., five bass, 11-2, $380
Ernest Stephens of Orrum, N.C., weighed in four bass totaling 15 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win $1,628 in the co-angler division. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Eddie Cook, Clemmons, N.C., four bass, 14-6, $814
3rd: John Gallimore, Lexington, N.C., four bass, 12-15, $542
4th: Jimmy Batts, Raleigh, N.C., two bass, 11-3, $380
5th: Dennis Surratt, Denton, N.C., three bass, 9-14, $326
6th: Chris Teague, Lincolnton, N.C., two bass, 9-7, $298
7th: Scotty Morris, Rougemont, N.C., two bass, 9-3, $271
8th: Jason Prevatte, Sophia, N.C., four bass, 8-15, $244
9th: Chris Davis, Raleigh, N.C., two bass, 8-9, $217
10th: Dale Winstead, Battleboro, N.C., three bass, 8-8, $190
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Va. 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.