MONTICELLO, Ky. (May 5, 2014) – Adam Militana of Nashville, Tenn., weighed in four bass totaling 13 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Mountain Division tournament on Lake Cumberland. For his victory, Militana earned $6,792. Militana earned his first FLW win with four smallmouth bass that exceeded the 18-inch size limit.
“My goal was to hit as many spots as possible,” said Militana. “I think I hit 30 spots in the tournament. The areas that I was fishing were transition areas near spawning flats. You can run to those areas and make five or six good casts and cover them pretty quickly. I didn’t want to get bogged down in the flats, especially because I don’t fish on Cumberland Lake very much.
“One of my keys was definitely the one-two punch of my swimbaits,” explained Militana. “I threw a 5-inch swimbait in the morning and when the bite slowed in the afternoon I switched to a 3-inch swimbait and caught three more keepers.
“I could have seen that day going completely the other way,” said Militana. “I was somewhat surprised that I won with just four bass. My home lake is Dale Hollow Lake and because of the limit there you can’t fish for smallmouth in a five-fish tournament. This was the Dale Hollow tournament that I always wanted to fish. I feel very fortunate to win and I’m really pleased that it happened.
Militana said that he threw two different shad-colored swimbaits. One was a 5-inch model on a homemade 3/8-ounce jig head and the other was a 3-inch model on a homemade 1/8-ounce jig head. Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Brad Roberts, Faubush, Ky., five bass, 13-10, $2,364
3rd: John Daniel, Bowling Green, Ky., four bass, 13-6, $1,576
4th: Larry Klaber, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 12-14, $1,103
5th: Raymond Manis, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 12-6, $946
6th: Matt Salmons, Bronston, Ky., five bass, 11-13, $867
7th: Mark Neal, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 11-9, $788
8th: Jim Forshee, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 11-5, $709
9th: Jeff Carman, Liberty, Ky., five bass, 11-2, $591
9th: Mark Mauldin, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 11-2, $591
Kenny Bottts of Bowling Green, Ky., weighed in a four bass totaling 11 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $2,288 in the co-angler division. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Austin Allen, Gainesboro, Tenn., four bass, 10-15, $1,114
3rd: Paul Flatt, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 10-10, $762
4th: John Vice, Owingsville, Ky., four bass, 9-2, $534
5th: Billy Gardner, Livingston, Tenn., four bass, 9-0, $458
6th: Adam Frye, Burnside, Ky., four bass, 8-3, $419
7th: Nick Haunert, Maineville, Ohio, three bass, 8-1, $381
8th: Darrell Dowell, Burnside, Ky., four bass, 7-9, $343
9th: Beecher Strunk, Somerset, Ky., four bass, 7-6, $305
10th: Joshua Mounce, Somerset, Ky., three bass, 7-1, $267
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.