GADSDEN, Ala. (July 16, 2018) – Boater Adam Brown of Rainbow City, Alabama, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 17 pounds even to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division tournament on Lake Neely Henry. For his efforts, Brown pocketed $3,917. Brown said he spent his day fishing the backs of three creeks in the mid-river area, including Big Wills Creek.
“I didn’t do well until the sun got up around 10 a.m. and the fish started holding tight to cover, then I was able to target them better,” said Brown, who logged his first win in FLW competition. “I fished stumps, bushes – basically any type of cover that was back there. Almost every fish I caught came from 2 feet or less of water.”
Brown’s primary bait was a white Stan Sloan’s The Aggravator long-arm spinnerbait with No. 5 willow leaf blades and a trailer hook. He said he followed it up with a 3/8-ounce black and blue-colored Bo’s jig with a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer of the same color. By the end of the day, Brown said he caught around 15 keepers.
“I ran the spinnerbait across the stumps and then pitched the jig,” said Brown. “I had to fish slow and steady. I hit each creek at least twice, and as far as the big fish go, I caught about two from each creek.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Adam Brown, Rainbow City, Ala., five bass, 17-0, $3,917
2nd: Kyle Dorsett, Odenville, Ala., five bass, 16-11, $2,478
3rd: Johnathan Stuckey, Tallassee, Ala., five bass, 16-1, $1,507
4th: Bradley Jones, Aragon, Ga., five bass, 15-10, $1,014
5th: Wes Logan, Springville, Ala., five bass, 14-13, $783
6th: Andy Kilgore, Kingston, Ga., five bass, 14-10, $718
7th: Allen Yarborough, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 13-9, $620
7th: Terry Tucker, Gadsden, Ala., five bass, 13-9, $620
9th: Josh Bragg, Jacksonville, Ala., five bass, 13-5, $522
10th: Hunter Hayes, Rainbow City, Ala., five bass, 12-14, $457
Dorsett brought a 5-pound, 14-ounce, bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $520. Mike Garrett of Pensacola, Florida, won the Co-angler Division and $1,958 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Mike Garrett, Pensacola, Fla., five bass, 12-1, $1,958
2nd: Matthew O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 10-5, $1,179
3rd: Jacob Robinson, Temple, Ga., five bass, 9-14, $703
4th: Chris Hawkins, Adger, Ala., five bass, 9-7, $684
4th: Chris Harcrow, Dawson, Al a., three bass, 9-7, $424
6th: Wayne Kilgore, Attalla, Ala., four bass, 9-1, $359
7th: Sam McLean, LaGrange, Ga., five bass, 8-15, $326
8th: Tanner Ellison, Jemison, Ala., four bass, 8-12, $294
9th: Radney Atchison, Prattville, Ala., five bass, 8-11, $261
10th: Larry McNeil, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 8-8, $228
Hawkins caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $260. https://www.bassresource.com