LAKE WYLIE, S.C. (March 19, 2012) – Randy Childers of Anderson, S.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Wylie. For his victory, Childers earned $4,082.
“I had a whole lot of mechanical issues with my boat on Friday,” said Childers. “I really did not get a whole lot of practice in. I basically just went fishing, and I was able to figure it out as the day went on. I had heard the rumor coming in that a lot of guys would be sight fishing, but I didn’t see enough bass on the beds for me to fool with it. I ended up fishing topwater and with soft plastics, and we ended up catching a bunch of fish.
“I ran a few shallow pockets in the early morning and we caught quite a few,” Childers continued. “They were a little small though, and most were under the 14-inch slot. Later in the day, we moved out to the main lake where there wasn’t as much boat traffic and that’s where we figured it out. We moved to the shoals, and caught a lot of fish on every bed we ran. I believe the fish were out on the shoals to bed, not in the pockets where everyone was looking for them.
“I’m a jig fisherman, and I had a jig laying on the deck all day, but I never even had to pick it up,” Childers went on to say. “We stuck with the soft plastics - Senkos and worms. No one else was fishing the shoals and that is definitely what helped me win this tournament.”
Boater Randy Childers of Anderson, S.C., took first place at the March 17 BFL South Carolina Division event at Lake Wylie.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Michael Brehm, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 16-10, $2,041
3rd: Roger Pope, Statesville, N.C., five bass, 16-8, $1,362
4th: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 15-13, $952
5th: Patrick Tierney, Denver, N.C., five bass, 15-6, $816 + $1,000 Evinrude Bonus
6th: Hank Cherry, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 15-2, $748
7th: Eddie Herlong Sr., Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 14-14, $680
8th: Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 14-12, $612
9th: Jay McCuen, Pelzer, S.C., five bass, 14-9, $544
10th: Tracy Schiff, McConnells, S.C., five bass, 13-13, $476
Scott Frye of Sumter, S.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win $2,041 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Jerry Hayden, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 12-5, $1,021
3rd: David Gibson, Ridgeway, S.C., five bass, 11-14, $683
4th: Rusty Smith, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 11-13, $476
5th: D.J. McEachern Jr., Columbia, S.C., five bass, 11-1, $408
6th: Dale Hamby, Waterloo, S.C., four bass, 10-10, $374
7th: Jamie Amerson, Pooler, Ga., five bass, 10-6, $323
7th: Adam Suarez, Hephzibah, Ga., five bass, 10-6, $323
9th: Clyde Whiteside, Forest City, N.C., five bass, 10-2, $272
10th: Tommy Milligan, Surfside Beach, S.C., five bass, 10-1, $238
The next BFL South Carolina Division tournament is scheduled for April 14 on Santee Cooper in Summerton, S.C. After the fifth South Carolina Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 11-13 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, N.C. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for the BFL All-American. The 2012 BFL All-American is being held May 17 – 19 on the Potomac River in National Harbor, Md. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the FLW Tour.