HENDERSON, N.C. (Sept. 10, 2018) – Boater Tyler Trent of Nathalie, Virginia, won the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division tournament on Kerr Lake Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 13 ounces. For his win, Trent earned $4,732. Trent said he picked apart mid-lake areas in 20 to 50 feet of water each day.
“Each day I caught a couple on a (6-inch, dark-colored) Zoom Trick Worm on a drop-shot rig and a couple throwing topwater baits, but most of my fish I weighed came on a custom jig,” said Trent, who notched his first win in FLW competition. “Basically I used the drop-shot rig and different topwater baits to get a limit and then used the custom jig. It was more about the bait rather than the structure in my areas.
“I had 40 spots I could’ve hit Saturday, but only needed a few to put together a good limit,” continued Trent. “On Sunday, I ran a lot more because there was less boat pressure and I had more room to move.”
Trent used a 6-foot, 10-inch, G. Loomis E6X Casting rod with an Abu Garcia Revo SX reel for the topwater bait and an NRX Spinning rod, also fitted with an Abu Garcia reel, for the drop-shot and the jig. He estimated that he caught between 15 and 20 keepers Saturday, and even more on Sunday.
“I caught them all day on Sunday,” said Trent. “My Lowrance electronics really paid off, as well. I could see some of the fish I was catching and could cast right back to the school.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Tyler Trent, Nathalie, Va., 10 bass, 28-13, $4,732
2nd: Ryan Harrell, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., 10 bass, 26-10, $2,566
3rd: Mark Inman, Greensboro, N.C., eight bass, 19-6, $1,577
4th: Burke Hutcheson, Durham, N.C., 10 bass, 18-4, $1,204
5th: Danny Moss Jr., Norlina, N.C., eight bass, 18-0, $946
6th: James Wall, Greensboro, N.C., eight bass, 18-0, $868
7th: Mike Miller, Trinity, N.C., eight bass, 17-2, $789
8th: David Wright, Lexington, N.C., six bass, 17-0, $710
9th: Les Ore, Chesapeake, Va., eight bass, 16-1, $631
10th: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., seven bass, 14-4, $552
Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 9 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $555. Ben Dacey of Chesterfield, Virginia, caught a two-day total of six bass weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,743.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Ben Dacey, Chesterfield, Va., six bass, 16-8, $2,743
2nd: Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., six bass, 14-8, $1,233
3rd: Robert Jarrett, Lexington, N.C., six bass, 13-12, $790
4th: Anthony Rife, Max Meadows, Va., four bass, 9-1, $552
5th: Victor Riveras, Newport News, Va., four bass, 8-14, $473
6th: David Mills, Moneta, Va., four bass, 8-8, $434
7th: Jesse Jodon, Windber, Pa., four bass, 8-8, $394
8th: Jamaine Brown, Halifax, Va., three bass, 8-3, $355
9th: Arthur Clark, Cary, N.C., four bass, 7-14, $315
10th: Gregory Skerven, Kernersville, N.C., four bass, 7-8, $276
Dacey also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $277.