GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 10, 2018) – Boater Daniel Johnson of Lebanon, Tennessee, won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) LBL Division tournament on Kentucky and Barkley lakes Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 11 ounces. For his win, Johnson earned $5,943.
“I had three areas on the south end of Barkley Lake that I worked through both days,” said Johnson, who notched his second career win in BFL competition. “I targeted ultra-shallow cover like rock and wood – basically anything in less than 2 feet of water.”
Johnson flipped green-pumpkin or black and blue-colored tubes with ½-ounce Jenko Creature Weights. He also rotated in handmade balsa square-billed crankbaits. For crankbait colors, he said he preferred shad on Saturday and chartreuse with a black back on Sunday.
“The majority of my fish came from flipping, but I caught one key fish and a couple of keepers on the square-bill,” said Johnson. “I utilized the square-bill more early in the morning when I noticed shad up around the cover. Later in the day I flipped.”
Johnson said he caught eight keepers Saturday and six keepers on Sunday.
“Sticking with my gameplan was important,” said Johnson. “A lot of times, with those shallow fish, there aren’t enough of them for a two-day event, but I felt I could get two limits and two limits would go far. The fishing has been tough, but I knew there were some good, quality fish to be caught up shallow.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Daniel Johnson, Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-11, $5,943
2nd: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-0, $2,671
3rd: Chris Beaudrie, Princeton, Ky., eight bass, 28-15, $1,748
4th: Joey Mallicoat, Lebanon, Tenn., seven bass, 28-10, $1,153
5th: Chuck Callahan, Cincinnati, Ohio, 10 bass, 27-11, $989
6th: Josh Malone, Alma, Ill., 10 bass, 27-7, $1,206
7th: Cody Bertrand, Dyer, Ind., seven bass, 27-1, $824
8th: Keith Amerson, Bethel Springs, Tenn., seven bass, 26-11, $1,348
9th: Billy Schroeder, Paducah, Ky., nine bass, 26-9, $659
10th: Brad Baldwin, Waynesville, Ohio, seven bass, 23-7, $577
Amerson caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $607. Michael Glynn of Boerne, Texas, caught a two-day total of seven bass weighing 23 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,671.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Michael Glynn, Boerne, Texas, seven bass, 23-7, $2,671
2nd: Dennis Taylor, Murray, Ky., six bass, 22-11, $1,236
3rd: Jerry Sterling, Jackson, Mo., five bass, 18-10, $872
4th: Wesley Dunn, Paducah, Ky., six bass, 18-0, $577
5th: Spencer Childers, Jasper, Ga., five bass, 17-15, $494
6th: Nathan Steele, Benton, Ky., five bass, 15-15, $453
7th: Ryan Kirkpatrick, Benton, Ky., four bass, 13-9, $412
8th: Danny Robinson, Fairland, Ind., two bass, 11-6, $675
9th: James Kelley, Maryland Heights, Mo., three bass, 11-4, $330
10th: Evan Bremmerkamp, Benton, Ky., three bass, 10-12, $288
Robinson caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $304.