SENECA, S.C. (Feb. 5, 2018) – Boater J.R. McCay of Helen, Georgia, caught five bass weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Keowee. For his efforts, McCay took home $4,004.
“I had a couple places where I was catching 10 or 11 pounds consistently during practice, but by 9 a.m. Saturday morning I didn’t have a bite from either,” said McCay, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “I decided to head into the back of a creek on the north end that had stained water, laydowns, docks and stump flats. I threw a swimbait and only had one fish swirl on it, which told me they weren’t very active.”
McCay said he began flipping a ½-ounce brown Spot Sticker Casting Jig with a green-pumpkin-colored Strike King Rage Tail Craw trailer, and was able to put two 4-pounders and a 3-pounder in the boat. Around 2 p.m., he said that he left the area for a long flat with scattered rock on the main lake.
“I used the Spot Sticker and nabbed another 3-pounder,” said McCay. “I caught my last fish on the south end, in 70 feet of water, from a rock pile where fish typically school up. I guess I pulled up to the right place at the right time.”
McCay said he used a blueback-colored Tim Farley Custom Baits Pro X Swimbait to catch his last keeper.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: J.R. McCay, Helen, Ga., five bass, 15-7, $4,004
2nd: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 13-11, $2,002
3rd: Brian Tidwell, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 13-8, $1,267
4th: Edward Humphreys, Alum Creek, W. Va., five bass, 12-8, $888
5th: Matthew Justice, Fair Play, S.C., five bass, 11-10, $761
6th: Daniel Atkins, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 11-9, $697
7th: Marcus Church, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 11-3, $634
8th: Chris Nelson, Social Circle, Ga., five bass, 11-1, $571
9th: Brian Callahan, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 11-0, $507
10th: Jerry Morgan, Inman, S.C., five bass, 10-12, $444
Joshua Popham of Central, South Carolina, nabbed a bass weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $505. Ryan Lesley of Williamston, South Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $2,097 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Ryan Lesley, Williamston, S.C., five bass, 11-4, $2,097
2nd: Tim Watson, Martin, Ga., five bass, 11-2, $999
3rd: Westley Denny, Westminster, S.C., five bass, 9-5, $633
4th: Keith Lewis, Franklin, N.C., five bass, 8-12, $443
5th: Kevin Landreth, Seneca, S.C., four bass, 8-8, $379
6th: Chris Nunziato, Elberton, Ga., five bass, 8-7, $348
7th: Vern Schmucker, Westminster, S.C., four bass, 8-4, $316
8th: Michael Senn, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 7-9, $285
9th: Gary Murphy, Homer, Ga., five bass, 7-8, $253
10th: Brandon Graham, Greer, S.C., three bass, 6-10, $221
Thomas Morris of Walhalla, South Carolina, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a 4-pound, 4-ounce fish. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $247.