Benfield Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on Lake Hartwell

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LAVONIA, Ga. (April 8, 2019) – Boater Brad Benfield of Cornelia, Georgia, won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell with a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces. For his day on the water, Benfield took home $2,977. Benfield said he sight-fished for bass on the lower end of the lake near the dam on the Georgia side. He said he targeted main-lake pockets, and had about 20 different pockets at his disposal.

“The fish were kind of behind the grass that had been on the bank before the lake had come up – I think its dogfennel grass – in 2 feet or less of water,” said Benfield, who grabbed his first win in FLW competition. “I probably caught eight keepers. It was slow until midday, but when it warmed about 1:30 [p.m.] until weigh-in is when I caught most of them.”

  

Benfield said he used two different baits – a 5-inch, Texas-rigged Pumpkin Chartreuse-colored Zoom Lizard with a ¼-ounce tungsten sinker weight and a 3/8-ounce, green-pumpkin-colored 706 Fishing Lures shaky-head rig with a Watermelon Candy-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw.

  

“I just flipped to the beds to get them agitated,” said Benfield. “All the fish I weighed were largemouth. I did catch a couple spotted bass, but culled those out.”

  

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

               1st:          Brad Benfield, Cornelia, Ga., five bass, 14-15, $2,977

               2nd:         Derrick Bridges, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 14-7, $1,489

               3rd:          Carl Zoellner, Highlands, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $992

               4th:          Sean Skey, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 13-8, $895

               5th:          Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 13-2, $845

               6th:          Jeremy Strong, Elberton, Ga., five bass, 12-15, $846

               7th:          Justin Raines, Easley, S.C., five bass, 12-14, $596

               8th:          Joe Eubanks, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 12-5, $447

               9th:          Baylor Ronemus, Clarkesville, Ga., five bass, 12-2, $397

               10th:        Justin Singleton, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 11-15, $347

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Michael Molenaar of Grovetown, Georgia, caught a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $340. Stephen Waldon of Ellenwood, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,839 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce.

  

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1st:          Stephen Waldon, Ellenwood, Ga., five bass     15-1, $1,839

               2nd:         Corey Bryson, Mount Airy, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $744

               3rd:          Roger Coggins, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 11-7, $497

               4th:          Keith Horton, Anderson, S.C., four bass, 10-2, $347

               5th:          Eric Cerny, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 10-0, $298

               6th:          Bill Hawkins, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 9-13, $323

               7th:          Keith Lewis, Franklin, N.C., five bass, 9-11, $235

               7th:          Tucker Souther, Brevard, N.C., five bass, 9-11, $235

               9th:          Mark Johnson, Martinez, Ga., five bass, 9-9, $198

               10th:        Nathan McClure, Hiawassee, Ga., five bass, 9-8, $174

Mario Hill of Thomson, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $170.