ANDERSON, S.C. (Sept. 18, 2017) – Jayme Rampey of Liberty, South Carolina, won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 6 ounces. For his win, Rampey pocketed $7,112.
“I caught them from the clear main-lake water to all the way up the Tugaloo River,” said Rampey, who logged his sixth career-win in BFL competition. “I fished fast and shallow along a 30-mile stretch and threw to whatever looked good.”
Rampey said he focused on stumps, wood and docks. He said he ended up weighing eight keepers from a white Zoom Horny Toad, and two from a Buckeye Lures jig with a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw trailer.
“There wasn’t really any rhyme or reason to what I was doing,” said Rampey. “The wind and rain from the outskirts of Hurricane Irma had the fish spread out. I don’t think they were adjusted back to normal weather conditions yet.”
Rampey’s two-day total was highlighted by a 6-pound, 4-ouncer, which he caught Saturday on the Horny Toad near a laydown.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 26-6, $7,112
2nd: Rob Jordan, Flowery Branch, Ga., 10 bass, 25-6, $3,121
3rd: Brad Fowler, Townville, S.C., 10 bass, 23-12, $2,282
4th: Kerry Partain, Elberton, Ga., 10 bass, 23-11, $1,456
5th: Brad Benfield, Cornelia, Ga., 10 bass, 22-14, $1,248
6th: Joey Nichols, Cumming, Ga., 10 bass, 22-13, $1,444
7th: Franklin Ramey III, Abbeville, S.C., 10 bass, 22-7, $1,140
8th: Taylor Ashley, Warrior, Ala., 10 bass, 22-2, $936
9th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 21-14, $832
10th: Todd Goade, Suwanee, Ga., 10 bass, 21-1, $728
Rampey’s 6-pound, 4-ounce bass was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned him the Big Bass award of $870. Beau Govreau of Cedar Hill, Missouri, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $3,121.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Beau Govreau, Cedar Hill, Mo., 10 bass, 20-9, $3,121
2nd: Darren Jeter, Marshall, N.C., 10 bass, 20-5, $1,660
3rd: Jimmi Leuthner, Tamassee, S.C., 10 bass, 19-8, $1,092
4th: Donnie Davis, Greer, S.C., 10 bass, 19-6, $728
5th: Brandon Brock, Honea Path, S.C., 10 bass, 19-6, $624
6th: Michael Miller, Greenville, S.C., 10 bass, 18-10, $572
7th: Keith Lewis, Franklin, N.C., eight bass, 18-9, $955
8th: Tim Watson, Martin, Ga., eight bass, 17-6, $468
9th: Kevin Landreth, Seneca, S.C., nine bass, 17-6, $416
10th: Mark Denney, Bonaire, Ga., 10 bass, 17-6, $364
Lewis caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $435.