FLORENCE, Ala. (June 2, 2017) – Boater Marshall Deakins of Dunlap, Tennessee, extended his lead at the 34th annual Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American tournament on Pickwick Lake Friday with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces, bringing his two-day cumulative total to 10 bass weighing 45 pounds, 1 ounce. Deakins will begin the final day of competition with a commanding 10-pound, 10-ounce advantage over second-place angler Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tennessee, who has a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 7 ounces.
“I caught a lot of small ones today and had 15 pounds in the boat for a long time,” said Deakins, who is competing in his first career All-American. “I was throwing the same Profound Lures football-head jig that I did yesterday, and hit seven or eight areas. I caught fish at each of them, but most were 2- to 2½-pounders.”
Deakins said the areas that he targeted were between Waterloo and the end of Seven Mile Island. He said most of his fish today were relating to shell beds and rocks.
“I’m working the jig slow and letting the current do the fishing,” said Deakins. “I’m throwing up the ledges and along them. There was one area – a 50-yard stretch – that had a pile of rocks sticking out from the ledge, and that’s where they were positioned.”
Deakins said he capped of his limit at 2 p.m. with his two biggest fish of the day. He said he plans to return to his same areas from Days One and Two to finish out the event.
“They are the only areas I’ve got, and I’ve caught big ones from them this week,” said Deakins.
The top 10 boaters advancing to the final day of competition on Pickwick Lake are:
1st: Marshall Deakins, Dunlap, Tenn., 10 bass, 45-1
2nd: Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-7
3rd: Jeff Knight, Cleveland, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-6
4th: Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., 10 bass, 34-4
5th: Brandon Gray, Bullock, N.C., 10 bass, 32-13
6th: Ronald Nutter, Saint Louisville, Ohio, 10 bass, 32-11
7th: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 32-2
8th: Brad Fowler, Townville, S.C., 10 bass, 31-11
9th: William Merrick, Mount Juliet, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-11
10th: Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-4
Overall there were 208 bass weighing 572 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 47 boaters Friday. The catch included 34 five-bass limits. Alex Hester of Crossville, Tennessee, leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by Randy Westerfield of Constantine, Mich., in second place with nine bass weighing 27-5.
The top 10 co-anglers are:
1st: Alex Hester, Crossville, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-2
2nd: Randy Westerfield, Constantine, Mich., nine bass, 27-5
3rd: Greg Ravitsky, Ashburn, Va., 10 bass, 25-3
4th: Dennis Taylor, Murray, Ky., eight bass, 23-14
5th: Jim Budde, Waterloo, Ill., 10 bass, 23-7
6th: Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., eight bass, 22-11
7th: Jacob Harris, Bonne Terre, Mo., nine bass, 22-6
8th: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, eight bass, 21-14
9th: Peter Balishin, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., eight bass, 21-4
10th: Jim Stone, Greenwood, Ind., nine bass, 21-1
Overall there were 148 bass weighing 356 pounds even caught by 47 Co-anglers Friday. The catch included 16 five-bass limits.