BRANDON, Miss. (June 1, 2015) – Shannon Denson of Brandon, Mississippi, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division tournament on Ross Barnett Reservoir. For his victory, Denson earned $4,618. Denson said he started his day targeting bass in lily pads using a frog, but couldn’t find the bite.
“I had found good fish at these spots before the tournament but it wasn’t firing like I had hoped, so I decided to make a run,” said Denson. “I went to a submerged island and got my limit using a Strike King Jointed Structure Head jig rigged with a Blue Sapphire-colored Menace Twin Tail grub. The fish were in only about 18 inches of water.
“After catching the limit I spent my day trying to fire up schools on main-lake ledges and humps,” continued Denson. “I’d throw a Strike King KVD 8.0 Squarebill Magnum Crankbait to get the fish moving and then I’d switch to a Strike King Series 3 crankbait to clean up. Looking back, the Series 3 got the most bites.”
After the day concluded, Denson figured he had caught around 40 fish.
“The first drops right outside of the spawning areas is where the best fish came from,” said Denison. “Luckily, I was there to find them.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Shannon Denson, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 23-2, $4,618
2nd: Larry Rochelle, Canton, Miss., five bass, 17-4, $2,309
3rd: Tony Owen, Carthage, Miss., five bass, 14-3, $1,539
4th: Mike Norsworthy, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 13-12, $1,078
5th: Bill Jarvis, De Kalb, Miss., five bass, 13-3, $924
6th: Jason Forman, Philadelphia, Miss., five bass, 12-15, $847
7th: Joel Barber, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 12-8, $770
8th: Alfred Williams, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 12-6, $693
9th: Garrett Riles, Potts Camp, Miss., three bass, 12-2, $616
10th: David Dove, Steens, Miss., five bass, 12-0, $539
Todd Reed of Brandon, Mississippi, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $680. Jon Hutzel of Brandon, Mississippi, weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win $2,309 in the co-angler division. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jon Hutzel, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 14-3, $2,309
2nd: Bernard Crump, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 11-2, $1,155
3rd: Owen Dhonau, Canton, Miss., five bass, 10-11, $770
4th: Ryan Moore, Cedar Bluff, Miss., five bass, 10-6, $539
5th: John Gammill, Petal, Miss., four bass, 10-0, $462
6th: Scott Kirk, Booneville, Miss., five bass, 9-15, $423
7th: John Goul, Philadelphia, Miss., five bass, 9-14, $385
8th: Joel Ross, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 9-9, $346
9th: Jerry Perry, Olive Branch, Miss., five bass, 9-0, $308
10th: Austin Savell, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 8-15, $269
Joe Cornelius of Corinth, Mississippi, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $340.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Alabama. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.