ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (Feb. 19, 2018) – Boater David Gaston of Sylacauga, Alabama, caught five bass weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division tournament on Lake Martin. Gaston pocketed $5,046 for his efforts. Gaston said he started his day on the lower end of the lake focusing on two fish that he had marked in practice.
“One was a 4-pounder and the other was just over 5 pounds. The 5-pounder ended up anchoring my limit,” said Gaston, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “They were pulled up near some black floating docks, probably trying to warm up. They were staging and getting ready to spawn.”
Gaston said he used a Davis Bait Co. Wood Jig with a black and blue flake-colored Netbait Paca Chunk Sr. trailer on a 7-foot, 3-inch heavy action Enigma HPT Tournament Casting rod to catch the pair. After that, he said he began to make his way back to the launch ramp due to issues with his boat propeller.
“A chunk of the prop had come off earlier, and I couldn’t go faster than 30 mph,” said Gaston. “I hit secondary points on the way back using the Davis jig and was able to scrape together a limit.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: David Gaston, Sylacauga, Ala., five bass, 15-2, $5,046
2nd: Marty Giddens, Eclectic, Ala., five bass, 14-8, $2,023
3rd: Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 14-6, $1,548
4th: Michael Smith, Andalusia, Ala., five bass, 14-0, $1,599
5th: Johnathan Stuckey, Tallassee, Ala., five bass, 13-9, $809
6th: Jimmy Miller, Eclectic, Ala., five bass, 13-1, $742
7th: Tony Hogan, McDavid, Fla., five bass, 12-11, $974
8th: Jason Nixon, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 12-10, $607
9th: Ethan Flack, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 12-5, $539
10th: Josh Stracner, Vandiver, Ala., five bass, 12-3, $472
Smith caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $555. Randall Wiggins of Birmingham, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and $2,123 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Randall Wiggins, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 13-4, $2,123
2nd: Hulan Mattox, Alexander City, Ala., five bass, 12-5, $1,011
3rd: Keith Reynolds, Ozark, Ala., five bass, 11-10, $951
4th: Larry Chastain, Laurel, Miss., five bass, 11-2, $522
5th: Mike Byrd, McDermott, Ohio, five bass, 10-13, $405
6th: Joseph Casey, Trenton, Ga., five bass, 10-11, $371
7th: John Bryan, Carrollton, Ga., five bass, 10-9, $337
8th: Scott Carpenter, Childersburg, Ala., five bass, 10-7, $303
9th: Jeremy Ray, Jacksons Gap, Ala., five bass, 10-5, $253
9th: Timothy Watkins, Trussville, Ala., five bass, 10-5, $253
Reynolds caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a 4-pound, 1-ounce fish. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $277.