ANDERSON, S.C. (April 3, 2017) – Jayme Rampey of Liberty, South Carolina, brought a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds even to the scale Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell. For his win, Rampey took home $5,148.
Rampey said he focused on the herring spawn to catch his limit. He said he worked through a 3- to 4-mile stretch on the main lake and was able to catch 60 fish throughout the day.
“It’s a little early for the herring to spawn, but the weather has been warm so I capitalized on bass that were heading out to points to feed on them,” said Rampey, who earned his fifth career-win in BFL competition. “I ran through about 15 points and didn’t even burn seven gallons of fuel.”
Rampey said he used a white Zoom Super Fluke to catch fish in the morning. After 10 a.m. he said he began mixing in a Hitch-colored Zoom Swimmer Paddle Tail Swimbait with a Buckeye Lures J-Will head.
“I caught a couple of my bigger fish with a Buckeye Lures jig rigged with a Zoom Creepy Crawler as well,” said Rampey. “My most productive baits were the Super Fluke and the swimbait, but it was steady all day.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 22-0, $5,148
2nd: Heath Pack, Ellijay, Ga., five bass, 18-6, $2,474
3rd: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 18-0, $1,649
4th: Hunter Smith, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 17-4, $1,155
5th: William Shipes, Williston, S.C., five bass, 16-7, $1,090
6th: Nick Rubio, Greer, S.C., five bass, 16-2, $907
7th: Franklin Ramey III, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 15-14, $1,580
8th: William Fordree, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 15-13, $742
9th: Derek Lehtonen, Woodruff, S.C., five bass, 15-6, $660
10th: Scott Chatham, Kingston, Ga., five bass, 15-4, $577
Ramey caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $755. Tony Everhart of Gaffney, South Carolina, won the Co-angler Division title and $2,674 Saturday after weighing in five bass totaling 13 pounds, 13 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Tony Everhart, Gaffney, S.C., five bass, 13-13, $2,674
2nd: Tim Whitaker, Fairview, N.C., five bass, 13-3, $1,237
3rd: Wayne Smelser, Rural Retreat, Va., five bass, 12-8, $750
3rd: Rusty Smith, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 12-8, $700
5th: Scott Roberts, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 12-4, $474
5th: Jason Whitfield, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 12-4, $474
7th: Brian Nappier, Huntersville, N.C., five bass, 12-2, $391
7th: Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 12-2, $391
9th: Evan Benton, Davidson, N.C., five bass, 12-0, $309
9th: Jimmi Leuthner, Tamassee, S.C., five bass, 12-0, $309
Tim Holbrooks of Franklin, North Carolina, caught the biggest bass among the Co-anglers, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned Holbrooks the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $377.