Chandler Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on Smith Mountain Lake

March 26, 2018
BFL News Archive

HUDDLESTON, Va. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Kevin Chandler of New London, North Carolina, won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division tournament on Smith Mountain Lake Saturday with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces. For his efforts, Chandler pocketed $7,327. Chandler caught the majority of his fish targeting rocks in the west arm of Smith Mountain Lake. He said he used green-pumpkin- and black and blue-colored custom jigs with Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailers.

“I just dragged the jig along the bottom. All of the fish I weighed in except for one came from rocks – the fifth came from a pier pole,” said Chandler, who earned his sixth win in BFL competition. “Most were in 3 to 8 feet of water and I was able to put 12 keepers in the boat.”

Chandler credited his 7-foot, 2-inch Medium Heavy Level Rod and Abu Garcia REVO STX Gen 4 Casting Reel as being crucial to his success.

“In my opinion, that rod has the perfect tip. You can make soft presentations and it has the backbone you need to get the hook in and catch them,” said Chandler.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

               1st:          Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 20-12, $5,327 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

               2nd:         David Perdue, Wirtz, Va., five bass, 19-13, $2,164

               3rd:          Ben Reynolds, Callands, Va., five bass, 18-6, $1,377

               4th:          Brian Calloway, Danville, Va., five bass, 17-13, $963

               5th:          Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., four bass, 16-11, $825

               6th:          Chris Lewis, Dublin, Va., five bass, 15-15, $757

               7th:          Justin Hicks, Roanoke, Va., five bass, 15-14, $688

               8th:          Bradley Staley, Pleasant Garden, N.C., five bass, 15-11, $619

               9th:          Eric Bailey, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $550

               10th:        Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 15-6, $482

Gary D’Angelo of Woodbine, Maryland, weighed a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $575. Isaac Jones of Shawsville, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,059 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1st:          Isaac Jones, Shawsville, Va., three bass, 14-1, $2,059

               2nd:         Kurt Moser, Max Meadows, Va., five bass, 12-11, $1,030

               3rd:          Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., three bass, 12-3, $787

               4th:          Craig Wheeler, King George, Va., five bass, 10-8, $480

               5th:          David DeCiucis, Chester, Va., four bass, 10-5, $412

               6th:          Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., three bass, 10-3, $378

               7th:          Josea Goble, Newton, N.C., three bass, 10-2, $343

               8th:          Shane Robbins, Raleigh, N.C., three bass, 9-11, $309

               9th:          Jamie Newton, Falls Church, Va., four bass, 9-8, $275

               10th:        Tony Laaper, Pittsboro, N.C., two bass, 9-4, $290

Steve Mazingo of Bedford, Virginia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $282.