LONDON, Ky. – Flint Fivecoait of Corbin, Ky., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Mountain Division tournament on Laurel Lake. For his victory, Fivecoait earned $3,671.
“I very much have a love/-hate relationship with this lake,” said Fivecoait. “Most of the time I hate it, but after Saturday, not as much. I hadn’t won a tournament in seven years and after awhile you really start to doubt yourself. This one was a lot of fun, though, and I’m happy to get the win. It was raining hard in the morning – we had almost an entire hour of straight downpour. You couldn’t even feel a lure. The rain finally started to taper off around 8:45 a.m., and the bite finally turned on for me.
“I was fishing a steep bank off of a cove near the Spruce Creek area,” Fivecoait continued. “I was fishing in about 6 to 8 feet of water and all of my fish came on a NetBait HBT Shaky Head rigged with a watermelon-colored Zoom Trick Worm. I caught around 12 fish on the day. I really would like to thank my co-angler Lucas Devere as well. He is a top-notch fisherman and it was nice to get on the lake with such a knowledgeable angler.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Kyle Christopher, Irvine, Ky., five bass, 13-14, $1,835
3rd: Greg Foley, Danville, Ky., three bass, 13-8, $1,224
4th: Talmadge Marcum, McKee, Ky., five bass, 13-3, $856
5th: Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., four bass, 13-1, $734
6th: Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., five bass, 12-9, $642
6th: Jerry Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $642
8th: Jim Dean, Huntington, W. Va., five bass, 12-6, $551 + $1,000 Evinrude Bonus
9th: Jerry Hogue, Danville, Ky., five bass, 12-4, $489
10th: Rex Huff, Corbin, Ky., five bass, 12-2, $377
10th: David McAdams, Barbourville, Ky., four bass, 12-2, $377
10th: Brad Roberts, Faubush, Ky., five bass, 12-2, $377
10th: Brandon Wallen, Monticello, Ky., five bass, 12-2, $377
Todd Stopher of London, Ky., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,816 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Bart Vaughn, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 11-0, $908
3rd: Dwight Coontz, Stanford, Ky., four bass, 10-0, $606
4th: Kevin Morrow, Bronston, Ky., three bass, 8-3, $424
5th: Jason Ratcliff, Eubank, Ky., two bass, 7-14, $363
6th: Lucas Devere, Berea, Ky., four bass, 7-11, $333
7th: Tracy Helton, London, Ky., three bass, 7-7, $303
8th: Kelly Poynter, Parksville, Ky., two bass, 7-4, $272
9th: Brett Graham, Alexandria, Ky., three bass, 6-9, $242
10th: Jacob Parmley, Burnside, Ky., three bass, 6-6, $212
The next BFL Mountain Division tournament is scheduled for June 2 on the Barren River in Scottsville, Ky. After the fifth Mountain Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 11-13 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, N.C. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.