SUMMERTON, S.C. (March 24, 2014) – Lex Costas of Daniel Island, S.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 32 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament on Santee Cooper. For his victory, Costas earned $3,255. Costas, a former guide on Santee Cooper, used his local knowledge to bring in the massive limit that would have topped any single day catch in the Rayovac FLW Series event held just one week before.
“I never thought I would catch 32 pounds,” said Costas. “You always hope to of course, and it was certainly nice to do.”
Costas said that he fished an area with current to start the day, and caught part of his limit there with a white bucktail jig. He said he finished his limit and culled a few times by targeting other pre-spawn areas in 6 to 12 feet of water with Yamamoto Senkos and a medium-diving crankbait.
“I caught fish in five different places,” explained Costas. “We just bounced around and picked up one fish here and two fish there. Other than our first stop we didn’t catch more than two fish anywhere.
“It felt great,” said Costas of his win. “I’ve come close quite a few times. I’m happy to finally get one under my belt.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Kyle Giella, Irmo, S.C., five bass, 22-9, $1,628
3rd: Ken Ellis, Bowman, S.C., five bass, 19-13, $1,084
4th: Ron Brown, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 19-5, $760
5th: Anthony Colacurcio, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 18-9, $651
6th: Freddie Gamble Jr., Sumter, S.C., three bass, 18-8, $597
7th: Mark Curry, Conway, S.C., five bass, 17-12, $543
8th: Thomas Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 17-3, $488
9th: Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 16-8, $434
10th: Norm Attaway, Clearwater, S.C., five bass, 13-11, $380
Lonnie Drusch of Sumter, S.C., weighed in a four bass totaling 15 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,628 in the co-angler division. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Carluss King, Galivants Ferry, S.C., three bass, 12-13, $814
3rd: Jack Daniel Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., five bass, 11-6, $542
4th: Mike Field, Columbia, S.C., two bass, 9-2, $380
5th: John King, Santee, S.C., three bass, 9-0, $326
6th: Tom Patten, Brandon, Vt., two bass, 7-8, $298
7th: Gregory Littles, Columbia, S.C., two bass, 5-14, $257
7th: Dale Webber, Kernersville, N.C., two bass, 5-14, $257
9th: Michael Petras, Summerville, S.C., two bass, 5-13, $217
10th: Jamie Amerson, Savannah, Ga., three bass, 5-11, $190
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Va. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.