GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (Feb. 25, 2013) – Adam Wagner of Cookeville, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 29 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Music City Division tournament on Lake Guntersville. For his victory, Wagner earned $3,386.
“The weather was cloudy and cold,” said Wagner. “My morning started off well and I caught two keepers pretty fast on my first spot. One fish was a 3-pounder and the other was a 5-pounder. The area that I chose to fish was a small pocket just off the main river channel. There were two points going into that pocket where those fish were staging, and that’s where I focused my efforts.
“After catching those two on a jig, I picked up an Alabama rig and finished off my limit,” Wagner continued. “I had 17 pounds after I got done with that spot, but I fished the rest of the day without much success. I caught a few fish here and there on a Rat-L-Trap, but I was not upgrading my weight.
“With only a little time left in the day I pulled up to a rip rap bank and picked up my flipping stick with another jig tied on,” Wagner went on to say. “After about 10 flips I had a 7-13 and the 7-9 in the boat. These fish were surprisingly shallow in about a foot of water and right on the bank. When I set the hook, I could immediately see the fish fighting. It was the best day I have ever had on Guntersville.”
Wagner was using an assortment of baits from the Zorro Bait Company. He used a 3/8-ounce Booza Bug Jig to catch his early-morning fish and stepped it up to a ½-ounce Booza Brush Bug Jig later in the afternoon. Both had skirts colored in a “Missouri Craw” pattern, which consists of a combination of dark green and brown strands, with a few chartreuse ones thrown in for brightness.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Johnny Patterson, Grant, Ala., five bass, 26-15, $1,693
3rd: Andrew Crabtree, Cane Ridge, Tenn., five bass, 26-12, $1,129
4th: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., five bass, 24-8, $790 + Evinrude Bonus: $300
5th: Tim Hurst, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 23-11, $677
6th: D. Murphy, Madison, Ala., five bass, 22-4, $621
7th: Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 21-7, $564
8th: Scott Brummett, Brentwood, Tenn., five bass, 21-3, $479
8th: Robert Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 21-3, $479
10th: Curtis Merriman II, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 20-13, $395
Jimmy Sparks of Tuscumbia, Ala., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 27 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $1,693 in the co-angler division. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Brandon Maynard, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 23-14, $846
3rd: Lynn Spears, Athens, Tenn., five bass, 20-1, $564
4th: Elliot Wenskunas, Smyrna, Tenn., two bass, 12-10, $395
5th: Bobby Whitson, Brentwood, Tenn., four bass, 11-1, $339
6th: Damien Willis, Jacksonville, Ala., three bass, 10-12, $310
7th: Lee Graves, Southside, Ala., three bass, 10-2, $282
8th: Robert Bobbitt, Mount Juliet, Tenn., three bass, 9-15, $254
9th: Tony Hines, New Market, Ala., three bass, 9-11, $226
10th: Jeff Johnston, Nashville, Tenn., two bass, 8-15, $198
The next BFL Music City Division tournament is scheduled for March 9 on Percy Priest in Smyrna, 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. 10-12 Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, 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.