GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2017) – Boater Kevin Powers of Unicoi, Tennessee, caught a two-day cumulative total of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Wild Card tournament on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. For his efforts, Powers earned $4,373 and one of the final entries into the 2018 BFL All-American Championship.
The Wild Card tournament is a last-chance shot at the All-American for BFL anglers that didn’t qualify for a Regional Championship.
“I didn’t have a very good year fishing regular-season BFL tournaments, so this was a great way to finish it off,” said Powers, who qualified for his second BFL All-American appearance in his FLW career. “This is my fifth win fishing FLW tournaments. Hopefully it won’t be my last.”
Powers spent the event fishing an array of banks on Lake Barkley.
“I looked for deeper banks on the main channel that had some laydowns on them,” said Powers. “With the water being down right now, and me not knowing the lake, I was just looking for the same things we’d fish back home in east Tennessee.”
For baits, Powers threw a green-pumpkin-colored Lunker Lure Rattleback Jig with a Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer, as well as a homemade 5/8-ounce chartreuse and white-colored spinnerbait. He said his jig produced the bulk of his keepers, most notably from one laydown that he had found in practice. On the final day of competition, he plucked seven keepers from the spot to seal the deal.
“I hadn’t ever fished it before until Friday. I thought it looked good, but I never imagined that,” said Powers.
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2018 BFL All-American were:
1st: Kevin Powers, Unicoi, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-9, $4,373
2nd: Steve Ruff, Saint Charles, Mo., 10 bass, 28-2, $2,386
3rd: Freddy Palmer, Estill Springs, Tenn., five bass, 19-10, $1,474
4th: Danny Holloway, Corinth, Miss., five bass, 18-6, $1,288
5th: Billy Schroeder, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 17-11, $932
6th: Justin Royal, Vidor, Texas, seven bass, 16-8, $808
Rounding out the top-10 boaters were:
7th: Steve Hatfield, Ashland, Ohio, seven bass, 15-6, $713
8th: Mel Kennedy, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 13-4
9th: Taylor Ramey, Purvis, Miss., four bass, 12-9, $665
10th: Willie Rentmeister, Mount Pulaski, Ill., seven bass, 12-8, $618
Chris Lewis of Longview, Texas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Boater Division Saturday, a largemouth weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces, which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $235. Scott Stallings of Glencoe, Oklahoma, won the Co-angler Division and $2,235 with a two-day cumulative of four bass weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2018 BFL All-American were:
1st: Scott Stallings, Glencoe, Okla., four bass, 11-12, $2,235
2nd: Dave Roberts, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 8-2, $1,017
3rd: Robert Pillow, Campbellsville, Ky., two bass, 7-14
4th: Cory Miller, Blanchard, Okla., two bass, 7-4, $684
5th: Andrew Nickeson, Valdosta, Ga., three bass, 6-10, $603
6th: Carl Lingle, Dongola, Ill., two bass, 6-7, $434
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers were:
7th: Sank Payton, Bay Springs, Miss., two bass, 5-15, $376
8th: Taylor Wisniewski, Lexington, Ky., two bass, 5-10, $332
9th: Chris O'Bryan, Harned, Ky., three bass, 5-9, $310
10th: W.K. Luckett Jr., Ridgeland, Miss., two bass, 4-14, $288
Alford Cherry of Monroe, Louisiana, caught the heaviest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Saturday, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 6 ounces, which earned him the day’s Co-Angler Big Bass Award of $105.