SENECA, S.C. (Jan. 29, 2024) – Boater Brendan Smith of Lavonia, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) Tournament on Lake Keowee. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. Smith earned $3,514 for his victory.
“I was boat number 89 of 90,” said Smith, who said Keowee had proved to be a difficult fishery for him in the past. “I had found some fish in an area that I thought would be my only opportunity to catch a limit. When I got to that place it was occupied.
“I went about the day fishing a pattern that I thought could work,” Smith continued. “It was a pattern that evolved throughout the day. Essentially, I junk fished Lake Keowee from 2 feet to 50 feet. The good Lord shined on me, and I caught some good fish.”
Smith focused on the lower part of Lake Keowee and said his junk fishing approach consisted of a Berkley Stunna Jerkbait 112, which produced his biggest bass of the day, as well as a Zoom Zlinky Stick Worm on a drop-shot rig in 50 feet of water. He said he also caught a few bass on a Keitech Swing Impact FAT 2.8-inch Swimbait in a ditch.
“I had a limit by 9:30 and figured I had 9 or 10 pounds and was pretty happy to have that weight that early in the day,” Smith said. “When I got to 13 pounds, I knew that was a decent catch for Lake Keowee this time of year. I knew when I was culling that 15 pounds would be pretty respectable.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve been through several of these squeakers, and I’m usually on the other end of it,” Smith added. “Did I ever think I had the win? No. I weighed in last and didn’t have a clue that I would win until the fish were weighed.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Brendan Smith, Lavonia, Ga., five bass, 15-5, $3,514
2nd: Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 15-3, $1,757
3rd: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 15-1, $1,672 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Daniel Atkins, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 14-11, $722
4th: Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., five bass, 14-11, $722
4th: Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Georgia, five bass, 14-11, $1,022
7th: Grayson Brewster, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 14-9, $586
8th: Michael Smith, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 14-8, $527
9th: William Bryson, Greer, S.C., five bass, 13-14, $469
10th: Hunter Cseledy, Waynesville, N.C., five bass, 13-13, $410
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $450.
Chris Wilson of Easley, South Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,982 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Chris Wilson, Easley, S.C., five bass, 11-10, $1,982
2nd: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., five bass, 11-9, $879
3rd: Dale Ball, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 11-6, $585
4th: Colby Matthews, Madison, Ga., five bass, 11-4, $610
5th: Kyle Rogers, Cleveland, Ga., five bass, 10-10, $351
6th: Justin Thompson, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 10-3, $322
7th: Andy Burgess, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 10-2, $293
8th: Renee Price, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 10-0, $249
8th: Brock Martin, Cross Hill, S.C., five bass, 10-0, $249
10th: Arthur Harris, York, S.C., five bass, 9-9, $205
Wilson earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $225, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
https://dev.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-keowee-12924.html
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