COLUMBUS, Miss. – Jamie Long of Amory, Miss., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division tournament on the Columbus Pool. For his victory, Long earned $3,879.
“There was a post-spawn deal going on,” said Long. “I caught all my fish coming off beds. I was flipping grass and hyacinth in about 1 to 3 feet of water. I got one bass with a frog, but the rest came on worms. I pretty much stuck to one area all day; I had three or four different beds that I was targeting within 100 yards of each other.”
Long indicated that it was partly cloudy to sunny and that more cloud cover probably would have improved his bite. According to Long, the sun was pulling the bass under the mats, and the afternoon bite was non-existent. Long said he had caught all of his fish by 10:30.
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
2nd: Cody Nichols, Fayette, Ala., five bass, 16-4, $1,940
3rd: Jerry Gilliam, Ethelsville, Ala., five bass, 14-7, $1,293
4th: Andrew Schrock, Aberdeen, Miss., five bass, 13-4, $905
5th: Chase Harris, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 12-2, $776
6th: Monte Knight, Meridian, Miss., five bass, 11-3, $711
7th: Tom Childress, Union, Miss., five bass, 10-14, $647
8th: Robert Powell, Clarksdale, Miss., five bass, 10-13, $582
9th: Brandon Bolton, West Point, Miss., five bass, 10-10, $517
10th: Gene Brown, West Point, Miss., four bass, 10-7, $453
Tommy Dove of Ethelsville, Ala., weighed four bass totaling 9 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $1,940 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Bill Smith, Ocean Springs, Miss., four bass, 8-2, $970
3rd: Bernard Crump, Jackson, Miss., four bass, 7-1, $646
4th: Douglas Vierling, Gulfport, Miss., three bass, 7-0, $453
5th: Jerry Cunningham, Millport, Ala., four bass, 6-8, $388
6th: Curtis Powell, Brandon, Miss., four bass, 6-4, $356
7th: Jimmy Ledsworth, Columbus, Miss., two bass, 6-1, $323
8th: Lance Jackson, Starkville, Miss., three bass, 5-12, $291
9th: Ansel Davis, Tylertown, Miss., three bass, 5-11, $259
10th: Tim Davis, Laurel, Miss., three bass, 5-10, $226
The next BFL Mississippi Division tournament is scheduled for June 16 on Lake Ferguson in Greenville, Miss. After the fifth event in the Mississippi Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 18-20 Regional Championship on the Red River in Natchitoches, La. 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.
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 a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for the BFL All-American. The 2012 BFL All-American is being held May 17 – 19 on the Potomac River in National Harbor, Md. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the FLW Tour.