GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 27, 2014) – J.R. Henard of Rogersville, Tennessee, weighed a two-day total of 10 bass totaling 42 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Wild Card tournament on Kentucky Lake Saturday. For his victory, Henard won $4,478 as well as entry into the 2015 BFL All-American.
“It feels great to win after the practice that I had,” Henard said of his victory. “I had a really tough practice. There were not a lot of bites.”
Henard said that he had a great first day of the tournament and he had boated a solid 20-pound limit by 8:45 a.m. on day one. He targeted main-lake flat points with deeper sides, throwing a white Heddon Zara Spook. Around 10:30 a.m., Henard switched to a white buzzbait and decided to target docks. He promptly boated a 5½-pounder, and determined that the gizzard shad suspended under certain docks within the lake’s coves were the key to his catch.
“The ones that had the most water seemed to be holding the big gizzard shad,” said Henard.
After his impressive start on day one, Henard decided that he would follow a similar pattern on day two. At his first spot Henard caught two fish, including one 4-pound smallmouth.
“By then I knew I probably had enough to make the All-American,” Henard said.
After deciding he was comfortable with his All-American qualification, Henard switched to a CP Custom Baits Big Humble crankbait, a new bait designed by Craig Powers and FLW Tour pro Troy Hollowell. Henard said that the switch to the crankbait enabled him to tally three more good fish, including another 5½-pounder from the docks.
“With how good my tournament was going, I really had time to pick up the crankbait and throw it the second day,” Henard said. “It ended up paying off.”
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2015 BFL All-American were:
1st: J.R. Henard, Rogersville, Tenn., 10 bass, 42-5, $4,478
2nd: Billy Schroeder, Paducah. Ky., seven bass, 30-6, $2,239
3rd: Bobby Padgett, LaGrange, Ga., eight bass, 23-12, $1,693
4th: David Dudley, Dublin, Ohio, nine bass, 21-12, $1,194
5th: Kenneth Meek, Vincent, Ohio, seven bass, 20-4, $945
6th: Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., eight bass, 19-8, $846
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
7th: Zack Bull, Arlington, Tenn., nine bass, 19-3
8th: Jim Forshee, Lexington, Ky., seven bass, 18-4, $746
9th: Charles Hammack, New Caney, Texas, seven bass, 17-15, $672
10th: Kevin Lasyone, Dry Prong, La., seven bass, 17-5, $597
Gary Kirkland of Brownsburg, Indiana, won the co-angler division with a two-day total of five bass totaling 12 pounds, 6 ounces. For his efforts, Kirkland took home $2,367 and a berth in the 2015 BFL All-American tournament. The top six co-angers that qualified for the 2015 BFL All-American were:
1st: Gary Kirkland, Brownsburg, Ind., five bass, 12-6, $2,367
2nd: Jason Mullinax, White, Ga., five bass, 11-2, $1,184
3rd: Daniel Douglas, Birmingham, Ala., six bass, 11-1, $893
4th: Gene Nornhold Jr., Mount Sterling, Ky., three bass, 10-7
5th: Jacob Harris, Bonne Terre, Mo., four bass, 9-14, $631
6th: Larry McNeal, Ridgeland, Miss., four bass, 9-13, $500
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
7th: Steve Roush, Delaware, Ohio, four bass, 9-12, $447
8th: Dave Patchell, Green Cove Springs, Fla., three bass, 8-14, $395
9th: Dan McAdams, Nekooska, Wis., five bass, 8-13, $355
10th: Terry Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., three bass, 8-8, $316