ANDERSON, S.C. (May 13, 2019) – Boater Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 16 pounds even win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell. For his efforts, Burroughs was awarded $3,572.
“I caught them targeting the blueback herring spawn,” said Burroughs, who earned his third career victory on Lake Hartwell in BFL competition. “It’s the very, very tail end of their spawn. The bite was extremely good in April, but it’s gotten tough. There’s only a few of us trying to do it and its fading fast.”
Burroughs said he focused on shallow red clay points and small pebble rock points, fishing mid-lake from near Andersonville Island to the dam. He estimated that he made 70 stops and that his fish came from less than 3 feet of water.
“I caught the majority of my keepers on a [½-ounce, brown-colored] Buckeye Lures Mop Jig with a [3½-inch, green-pumpkin] Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw trailer,” said Burroughs. “I also caught some on a topwater in the same areas. I’d throw the topwater up over the point first, and if they didn’t hit it, I went with the jig on the bottom.”
Burroughs said his topwater lure of choice was a chrome-colored IMA Little Stick 135 Walking Bait.
“I didn’t catch a ton of fish – only about 13 all day. I think I weighed three on the jig and two on the stick – all largemouth.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 16-0, $3,572
2nd: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 13-6, $1,561
3rd: Justin Singleton, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 13-5, $1,043
4th: Darren Ashley, Calhoun Falls, S.C., five bass, 12-9, $728
5th: Travis Weathers, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 10-14, $624
6th: Matthew Justice, Fair Play, S.C., five bass, 10-13, $572
7th: Jerry Morgan, Inman, S.C., five bass, 10-9, $520
8th: Bobby McDonald, Easley, S.C., five bass, 10-8, $692
8th: Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-8, $542
10th: Mick Rhinehart, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 10-5, $364
Eddie Whiten Jr. of Easley, South Carolina, caught a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $375. Jonathan Carter of Greenville, South Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $1,561 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jonathan Carter, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 14-1, $1,561
2nd: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 12-4, $981
3rd: Thomas Healan, Jefferson, Ga., five bass, 10-3, $521
4th: Markice Johnson, Thomson, Ga., five bass, 8-12, $414
5th: Tucker Souther, Brevard, N.C., five bass, 8-7, $312
6th: Jeremy Winn, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 8-6, $286
7th: Joshua Lyko, Greer, S.C., five bass, 8-5, $260
8th: Ronnie Cutshall, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 8-3, $421
9th: Keith Stills, Locust, N.C., five bass, 7-6, $208
10th: Justin Logan, Belton, S.C., five bass, 7-5, $182
Cutshall caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 10 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $187.