GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (May 9, 2015) – Tom Redington of Royse City, Texas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the Rayovac FLW Series Central Division tournament on Kentucky and Barkley lakes with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 71 pounds, 13 ounces. For his win, Redington earned $40,000 and a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard..
“It feels really good to win here on Kentucky Lake,” said Redington, a professional on the Walmart FLW Tour. “This is my favorite lake in the country, so to come back here and do well after a slow start this season on Tour is really something else.”
Redington said he targeted the mouths of spawning pockets where postspawn fish were moving back into the main lake.
“During the first couple of days I stuck to shallower ledges in the 6 to 10 foot range,” said Redington. “Normally the ledges are packed and you stay away from them in tournaments, but I found some quiet areas where I knew the first wave fish were coming.
“On day one I ran to 10 or 12 spots and slow-pitched a 10-inch plum-colored Lake Fork Tackle worm,” continued Redington. “As the day went on the fish were were chasing more, so I switched to a shad-colored swimbait. I dragged or hopped it along the bottom and I ended up with 18 keepers.”
By day three Redington said he had narrowed down his numerous spots to three primary and four secondary locations deeper in the lake due to the swift movement of the fish.
“On days like today when it was stormy I swam the swimbait because the fish were higher,” Redington said. “I caught around 20 keepers today. They were really nice, good-sized fish.
Finding those big spawning pockets near the main-river channel is what sealed the deal for me,” said Redington. “I couldn’t be happier with how the tournament played out.”
The top 10 pros on Kentucky and Barkley lakes were:
1st: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, 15 bass, 71-13, $40,000 + Ranger Z518 with a 200 HP outboard motor
2nd: Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., 15 bass, 69-12, $15,500
3rd: Brandon Hunter, Benton, Ky., 15 bass, 65-11 , $12,000
4th: David Fields, Murray, Ky., 15 bass, 63-15, $10,000
5th: Walmart pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 15 bass, 63-6, $9,000
6th: Jason Lambert, Pickwick Dam, Tenn., 15 bass, 63-4, $8,000
7th: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 15 bass, 62-6, $7,000
8th: Curt McGuire, Paris, Tenn., 15 bass, 61-0, $6,000
9th: Seth Davis, Decatur, Tenn., 15 bass, 56-14, $5,000
10th: Wesley Anderson, Moscow, Tenn., 10 bass, 40-06, $4,000
Boater Tim Frederick of Leesburg, Florida, and co-angler Dennis Hollis of Bartlett, Tennessee had their day one weight disqualified from the tournament for violating Rayovac FLW Series rule No. 13, which contains provisions regarding permitted fishing locations. FLW officials were made aware that the duo fished inside the off-limits area. Frederick caught five bass for 15 pounds, 10 ounces Friday and finished in 202nd place. Kelly Readhimer of Henderson, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117C with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor, with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 48 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Kentucky and Barkley lakes were:
1st: Kelly Readhimer, Henderson, Tenn., 12 bass, 48-10, Ranger Z117C with a 90 horsepower outboard motor + $5,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Taylor Bolton, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., 11 bass, 44-6, $5,000
3rd: Ryan Benson, Pinson, Tenn., 12 bass, 42-3, $4,000
4th: Edward Lovely, Manchester, Tenn., 14 bass, 39-6, $3,500
5th: Roger Olson Jr., Eagle River, Wis., 12 bass, 38-3, $3,000
6th: Rick Krassinger, House Springs, Mo., 12 bass, 35-12, $2,500
7th: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 34-12, $2,000
8th: Vince Denina, Willis, Texas, 10 bass, 32-13, $1,750
9th: Chester Gibbs, Wagoner, Okla., nine bass, 26-10, $1,500
10th: Michael Hrynewycz, Elkhart, Ind., nine bass, 25-4, $1,250
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 2015 Rayovac FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 29-31 on the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky.