GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Boater Charles Jones of Beech Bluff, Tennessee, brought three bass to the scale Saturday weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces to win the 2020 Bass Fishing League tournament on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. For his victory, Jones earned $4,385. Already in the FLW record books for his BFL win as a boater on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes in 2014, the 75-year-old Jones broke his own record and became the second-oldest angler to ever win as a boater in the BFL’s modern era. Only fellow Tennessean George Taylor of Dresden has been older – he won a BFL event in 2014 at the age of 77.
“It feels pretty good to get a win at this age,” Jones said after the weigh-in. “I had a good day – I caught everything that bit. I thought I was going to need one more good one, but it turns out that I didn’t.
“I was fishing ledges in Tennessee,” the Beech Bluff angler went on to say. “Everything I caught came on a Strike King jig with a Rage Craw trailer.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Charles Jones of Beech Bluff, Tenn., three bass, 12-9, $4,385
2nd: Craig Hipsher of Benton, Ky., three bass, 10-5, $2,193
3rd: Robert Linton of Cadiz, Ky., three bass, 9-4, $1,463
4th: David Carroll of Manitou, Ky., three bass, 9-3, $1,023
5th: Gary Singleton of Dickson, Tenn., two bass, 9-0, $877
6th: David Hames of Trezevant, Tenn., three bass, 8-14, $804
7th: Steve Freeman of Eddyville, Ky., three bass, 8-12, $731
8th: Kevin Caskey of Madisonville, Ky., three bass, 8-5, $658
9th: Carl Lee of Jackson, Tenn., three bass, 8-3, $585
10th: Daniel Langton of Evansville, Ind., three bass, 8-2, $486
10th: Doug Stamper of Wayne, W. Va., three bass, 8-2, $486
Eric Sanders of Lexington, Kentucky, claimed the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $620 after bringing a 6-pound bass to the scale.
Edward Gettys of Paris, Tennessee, was the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $500. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Bass Fishing League tournament if all requirements are met.
Bobby Wade of Mayfield, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $2,136 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Bobby Wade of Mayfield, Ky., three bass, 11-12, $2,136
2nd: William Holden of Cincinnati, Ohio, three bass, 10-13, $1,068
2nd: Charles Richardson III of Newbern, Tenn., three bass, 9-8, $712
4th: Greg Beam of Mount Sterling, Ky., three bass, 7-4, $498
5th: Benton Peoples of Bardstown, Ky., three bass, 6-15, $427
6th: Wesley Dunn of Paducah, Ky., two bass, 6-14, $392
7th: Barry Gunter of Trafalgar, Ind., three bass, 6-11, $356
8th: Andrew Dunford of Christopher, Ill., three bass, 6-7, $320
8th: Greg James of Carterville, Ill., three bass, 6-5, $285
10th: Alan Brasher of Decaturville, Tenn., two bass, 6-4, $249
Wayne Miller of Morgantown, Kentucky, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 5 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $297. The 2020 Bass Fishing League on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes was the opening event of five qualifying tournaments in the LBL division.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the LBL Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 8-10 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee, hosted by the Rhea Economic and Tourism Council. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard.