“I fished shallow brush piles in 2 to 3 feet of water in Madwin and Sandy creeks,” said Gaston, who earned his second career victory on Lake Martin in BFL competition. “I worked areas in both creeks, and hit probably 40 different brush piles. I would pull up and flip them 5 or 6 times, and then move on.”
Gaston said he caught eight or nine keepers throughout the day, using a black and blue-colored D&L Baby Advantage Casting jig with a Strike King Menace Rage Tail Craw of the same color. He also weighed one off of a Delta Red-colored Strike King 1.5 KVD HC Silent square-billed crankbait. He used P-Line 20-pound-test Tactical Fluorocarbon line, which he said ended up being a crucial part of his catch.
“They were really subtle bites. They didn’t thump the bait, they kind of just picked it up and held onto it and the sensitivity of the line helped me feel them.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: David Gaston, Sylacauga, Ala., five bass, 16-15, $4,956 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Marty Giddens, Cropwell, Ala., five bass, 15-0, $1,878
3rd: Jimmy Miller, Eclectic, Ala., five bass, 13-7, $1,253
4th: Dallas Weldon, Tallassee, Ala., five bass, 13-2, $876
5th: Terry Fisher, Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 13-1, $751
6th: Steven Ingram, Tallassee, Ala., five bass, 12-11, $689
7th: Robert Pelt II, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 12-7, $726
8th: Terry Tucker, Gadsden, Ala., five bass, 12-1, $563
9th: Ken Walters, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 12-0, $501
10th: Christopher Jones, Midfield, Ala., five bass, 11-10, $416
10th: Michael Purvis, Canton, Ga., five bass, 11-10, $416
Dusty Robinson of Eclectic, Alabama, caught a 6-pound, 10-ounce largemouth – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $490. Robert Hays of Elmore, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and $1,959 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Robert Hays, Elmore, Ala., five bass, 12-4, $1,959
2nd: Roman Robinson, Steele, Ala., five bass, 11-15, $929
3rd: Michael Ingram, Cropwell, Ala., five bass, 11-13, $619
4th: Ty Story, Prattville, Ala., five bass, 11-5, $484
5th: Gary Marlowe, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 11-3, $614
6th: William Jackson, Sharpsburg, Ga., five bass, 10-15, $341
7th: John Bryan, Carrollton, Ga., five bass, 10-13, $310
8th: Franklin McCutcheon, Jacksonville, Ala., five bass, 10-8, $279
9th: Ray Puckett, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 10-5, $232
9th: Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 10-5, $232
Marlowe caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $242.