FLORENCE, Ala. (Oct. 13, 2014) – Joshua Moore of Grand Cane, Louisiana, weighed a three-day total of 14 bass totaling 42 pounds, 14 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League Regional Championship tournament on Pickwick Lake Saturday. For his victory, Moore took home a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy 1500 Silverado as well as entry into the 2015 BFL All-American presented by Chevy. This regional tournament featured the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Cowboy, Hoosier, Music City and Volunteer divisions.
“I just found a ditch that was surrounded by grass and fished shallow,” said Moore, whose win was his first with FLW. “I caught all but two of my fish off of that ditch. The other two I caught off grass and wood on the edge of the river.
“The Sunday before the tournament was the first day I had ever been on Pickwick,” Moore continued. “I started on a main-river ledge and it led straight into that grass, and that’s where I found them. I never went back to that area until the tournament.”
Moore detailed that his prime ditch was just off the river and 6 to 12 feet deep in the center and had isolated wood and grass along the edges.
“I was flipping a green pumpkin-colored Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver around some isolated wood and a homemade buzzbait and a shad-colored Johnson’s Custom Baits spinnerbait around scattered grass,” said Moore. “I caught a bunch of fish each day, but only 14 keepers. I lost a 4-pounder right at the boat on Saturday and I thought that was going to break it for me.”
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2015 BFL All-American were:
1st: Joshua Moore, Grand Cane, La., 14 bass, 42-14, Ranger Z518C with 200-horsepower outboard + Chevy 1500 Silverado
2nd: Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., 14 bass, 41-14, $1,500
3rd: John Hopkins, Hendersonville, Tenn., 15 bass, 37-14, $1,100
4th: Thomas O’Bryant, Cedar Grove, Tenn., 15 bass, 37-9, $1,000
5th: Randy Despino, Colfax, La., 12 bass, 35-6, $900
6th: Dustin Vaal, Gilbertsville, Ky., nine bass, 35-3, $800 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
7th: Mike Quinlin, Mooresville, Ind., 13 bass, 34-10, $700
8th: Rogne Brown, Hixson, Tenn., 12 bass, 33-12, $650
9th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-14, $600
10th: Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., 12 bass, 30-7, $550
Mark Dehart of Brownstown, Indiana, won the co-angler division with a three-day total of seven bass totaling 24 pounds, 14 ounces. For his efforts, Dehart took home a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard along with a berth in the 2015 BFL All-American tournament.
The top six co-angers that qualified for the 2015 BFL All-American were:
1st: Mark Dehart, Brownstown, Ind., seven bass, 24-14, Ranger Z518C with 200-horsepower outboard
2nd: Scott Rowland, Flat Gap, Ky., five bass, 19-15, $750
3rd: Matt Wooten, West Point, Miss., eight bass, 19-2, $550
4th: Charles Hardin, Evansville, Ind., seven bass, 19-1, $500
5th: Tyler Mosier, Bloomington, Ind., 10 bass, 19-0, $450
6th: Justin McGaha, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 18-1, $400
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
7th: Calvin Fitch, Kokomo, Ind., seven bass, 17-10, $350
8th: Tyler Duckworth, Gray, Tenn., five bass, 16-5, $325
9th: John Sanchez, Friendsville, Tenn., six bass, 15-9, $300
10th: John Semken, Shreveport, La., six bass, 15-0, $275
The BFL Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake was hosted by Florence/Lauderdale Tourism.