HARDIN, Ky. (May 31, 2014) – Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 27 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win the Rayovac FLW Series Central Division tournament on Kentucky Lake with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 75 pounds, 5 ounces. For his victory, Haynes earned $40,000 and a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horespower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
“I put a lot of practice in and yesterday it felt like my fish down south were going away,” said Haynes, who picked up the fifth Rayovac FLW Series win of his career. “I was coming out of Jonathan Creek this morning and three-quarters of the way out I wasn’t sure if I was going to go right or left. I went down south and fished two spots for about thirty minutes to clear my mind, then I went back up north toward the dam and I knew I had made the right decision.”
Haynes said that he burned upwards of 40 gallons of gas each day of the tournament and burned even more today to put together his winning bag.
“Down south my spots were mostly 12 feet deep on top and fell off into 18 to 25 feet of water,” explained Haynes. “Up north, they were 18 to 23 feet deep and dropped off into a flat or down into the river channel.
“I caught several fish down south, but I only kept one that was about three and a half pounds because I didn’t want to have to start culling. A lot of times my windows to catch fish would only be two or three minutes long and I needed to keep up with them and not waste time culling. I didn’t even have to catch a bass to make them move. If they bit they were moving.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Haynes said of his win and recent string of success in FLW events. “The competition is getting so tough, and guys really understand ledge fishing. It is so hard to stay on top. Depth finders are getting better, and there are more guys out on the ledges than ever before. Especially Kentucky Lake – it has some of the best ledge fishermen in the country.”
The Tennessee native is now tied with fellow FLW Tour pro Koby Kreiger for most all-time Rayovac FLW Series win with five. Haynes said he caught most of his bass on a Profound Outdoors Z-Boss 20, a Strike King 10XD, a variety of swimbaits and a 1-ounce Profound Outdoors jig. The top 10 pros on Kentucky Lake were:
1st: Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., 15 bass, 75-5, $40,000 + Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower outboard
2nd: Jason Lambert, Pickwick Dam, Tenn., 15 bass, 73-7, $15,500
3rd: Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 15 bass, 71-3, $12,000
4th: Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 70-2, $10,000
5th: Brandon Hunter, Benton, Ky., 15 bass, 69-13, $9,000
6th: Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 68-1, $8,000
7th: Michael Wooley, Collierville, Tenn., 15 bass, 67-2, $7,000
8th: Todd Hollowell, Fishers, Ind., 15 bass, 66-1, $6,000
9th: Mark Pierce, Radcliff, Ky., 15 bass, 63-8, $5,000
10th: Ray Barga, Benton, Ky., 15 bass, 63-1, $4,000
Billy Hurt of Spring Creek, Tenn., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday – an 8-pound, 13-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Rayovac FLW Series Big Bass award of $300. Tim Webb of Olpe, Kan., won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117C with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 61 pounds, 4 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers on Kentucky Lake were:
1st: Tim Webb, Olpe, Kan., 15 bass, 61-4, Ranger Z117C with a 90-horsepower outboard
2nd: Tim Beale, Hernando, Miss., 15 bass, 57-2, $5,000
3rd: Damon Brown, Mayfield, Ky., 15 bass, 54-15, $4,000
4th: Vince Denina, Willis, Texas, 15 bass, 52-6, $3,500
5th: Frank Divis Sr., Farmington, Ark., 15 bass, 51-12, $3,000
6th: Roger Olson Jr., Eagle River, Wis., 15 bass, 51-3, $2,500
7th: Joey Schmidt, Hickory, Ky., 15 bass, 50-9, $2,000
8th: Chuck Rounds, Benton, Ky., 15 bass, 49-3, $1,750
9th: Shawn Overton, Coal Valley, Ill., 14 bass, 47-0, $1,500
10th: Wes Hardman, De Soto, Wis., 13 bass, 44-13, $1,250
Brandon Bray of Marble Falls, Texas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Thursday – a 6-pound, 15-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Rayovac FLW Series Big Bass award of $200.
The Rayovac FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the no-entry-fee Rayovac FLW Series Championship. The 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 30-Nov.1 on Wheeler Lake in Rogersville, Ala.