ANDERSON, S.C. (April 25, 2016) – Pro angler Troy Morrow of Eastanollee, Georgia, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell. For his victory, Morrow took home $7,684.
“My original intention was to head up the river and look for bedding fish, but when I arrived at my area they were gone,” said Morrow, a four-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “I had to adjust on the fly.”
“I flipped a tree laydown using a plum-apple-colored Zoom Lizard and had some success,” said Morrow. “I found that there was also a flipping bite near smaller bushes. There were a bunch of bucks in them. At some larger willow bushes, I caught one that I eventually weighed in.”
Around 1 p.m., Morrow said he ran south to a pocket where he ended up catching the heaviest bass of the tournament.
“I saw a big female in there and threw the Lizard, but she wasn’t biting,” said Morrow. “I left her alone for awhile, then went back, pitched in a green-pumpkin Lizard, and she bit.”
Morrow said his final two limit fish came on a Zoom swimbait off of docks on a nearby main-lake flat.
“Even though I wasn’t able to go with my original pattern, I was still able to patch things up,” said Morrow. “It was an interesting day out there.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 17-11, $5,684 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Derek Champion, Tryon, N.C., five bass, 17-5, $2,059
3rd: Matthew Roesch, Toccoa, Ga., five bass, 16-10, $1,374
4th: Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 15-9, $961
5th: Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 15-1, $824
6th: Mike Bouknight, Greenwood, S.C., five bass, 14-12, $755
7th: Eddie Whiten Jr., Pickens, S.C., five bass, 14-3, $652
8th: Chris Baxter, Winder, Ga., five bass, 14-3, $952
9th: David Wright, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-2, $514
9th: Michael Brehm, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 14-2, $514
Morrow also caught a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $565. Jody Rogers Sr. of Clarkesville, Georgia, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,059. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jody Rogers Sr., Clarkesville, Ga., five bass, 12-6, $2,059
2nd: Christopher Chavis, Rincon, Ga., five bass, 12-0, $1,030
3rd: Barry Myers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 11-13, $687
4th: Bill Hawkins, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 11-3, $480
5th: Bobby Smith, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 10-10, $412
6th: Lesley Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-9, $378
7th: Stewart Uldrick, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-5, $326
7th: Tony Holbrooks, Franklin, N.C., five bass, 10-5, $326
9th: Keith Lewis, Franklin, N.C., five bass, 10-2, $275
10th: Stephen Burress, Mills River, N.C., five bass, 9-14, $240
Ethan Monk of Long Creek, South Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 9 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $282.