KUTTAWA, Ky. (Nov. 14, 2011) – Larry Jenkins of Memphis, Tenn., won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Wild Card tournament on Lake Barkley Saturday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 9 ounces. For his victory, Jenkins won a berth in the BFL All-American and an optional pot worth $3,621. The Wild Card tournament is made up of BFL anglers who previously entered all five events within one of 24 divisions and did not qualify for their respective regional tournament.
“Practice was tough for me,” said Jenkins. “I thought about leaving on Thursday before the tournament even started; a few of the guys I know actually did leave. But, I have never run from a tournament so I stayed and boy, I’m glad I did!
“On the first day of the tournament I found an area near Duncan Creek,” continued Jenkins. “It was out of the wind and away from everyone else. I started throwing a five-hook umbrella rig and on my second cast I caught a 3 ½ - pounder and the fish just kept biting. I caught about 20 bass the first day; it was tremendous.
“The second day was even better,” Jenkins went on to say. “I was culling 4-pounders. I used the umbrella rig all weekend. I didn’t catch a fish on anything else. I was using three-inch swimbaits with flat tails on all five hooks. I had brought an old flipping stick I found laying around in my garage and tied it with some 60-pound braid because I had heard you need a strong rod to throw the umbrella rig. It worked perfectly. I had never used the umbrella rig before this tournament. Boy, are my arms sore.”
The remaining top six boaters who also qualified for the BFL All-American were:
2nd: Kevin Snider, Elizabethtown, Ky., 10 bass, 35-3, $1,811
3rd: Brent Sain, Manchester, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-12, $1,368
4th: Marty Johnson, Benton, Ky., 10 bass, 33-3, $966
5th: David Wootton, Collierville, Tenn., 32-7, 10 bass, $764
6th: Duane Snyder, Hanson, Ky., 10 bass, 32-6, $684
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
7th: Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., 10 bass, 31-2, $604
8th: Brian Wilson, Somerset, Ky., eight bass, 31-1, $543
9th: Michael Wooley, Collierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-5
10th: Mike Harris, Watkinsville, Ga., 10 bass, 30-0, $483
Danny Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., won the Co-angler Division Saturday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 2 ounces. His efforts won him a berth in the BFL All-American along with $1,887 from the optional pot.
The remaining top six co-anglers who also qualified for the BFL All-American were:
2nd: Brent Wilkens, Liberty Township, Ohio, 10 bass, 24-14
3rd: Curtis Callahan, Church Road, Va., nine bass, 23-9, $944
4th: Keith Sebastian, Rogersville, Mo., eight bass, 20-9, $712
5th: Tommy Dove, Caledonia, Miss., seven bass, 20-7, $503
6th: Ricky Williams, Russellville, Ala., six bass, 20-6, $398
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
7th: Dave Nentwick, Richmond, Ky., five bass, 20-5, $356
8th: Greg Gilley, Orange Beach, Ala., seven bass, 17-8, $315
9th: Donald Roscovius, Tomah, Wis., seven bass, 17-5, $283
10th: Taylor Wisniewski, Lexington, Ky., six bass, 16-6, $252
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for one of six regional tournaments and are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the FLW Tour.