CO-ANGLER CHAMP
ON TOUR
BFL REGIONALS
DEtAILS oct. 27-29, 2016 presented by Gopro hosted by mountain Lakes Convention and Visitors bureau Divisions: bama, music City, North Carolina, piedmont
NIXON FROGS DOCKS AT HARTWELL
SUMMERTIME PATTERN KEY TO REGIONAL VICTORY
By Brian Cope
CO-ANGLER CHAMP
Name: Alex Hester hometown: Crossville, Tenn. total Weight: 19-12( 14 fish) Winning program: Though it’ s not Hester’ s favorite bait to throw, a shaky head is the lure that he used to win the co-angler division at Lake Hartwell and earn a trip to the All- American. Hester caught fish in deep water( as deep as 30 feet), shallow water, stained water and clear water throughout the tournament, all with the finesse rig.
aslow start wasn’ t enough to derail Jason Nixon’ s quest for the All-American. Nixon, who won the T-H Marine Bass Fishing League Regional at Lake Hartwell with a total three-day weight of 31 pounds, 2 ounces, opened the tournament in 13th place. On day one he recorded less than half the weight of Clabion Johns of Covington, Georgia, the early leader who shocked the field with a 20-pound, 11-ounce limit.
“ I’ d never seen a 20-pound bag before. That surprised me, and I figured there was no way for me. I thought he’ d do it again the next day, or even if he just did half of that for the next two days he’ d surely win,” recalls Nixon.
Nixon got a break on day two when Johns weighed in only one keeper and 11 of the top 12 boaters failed to crack the 10-pound mark, allowing Nixon to advance to day three in 10th place with a 17-13 total.
The Wetumpka, Ala., angler landed a limit on all three days, including his best, a 13-pound, 5-ounce bag, on the final day. Day three was a sweltering one that felt more like June than October, but Nixon stuck to his program.
He caught almost all of his fish on a SPRO Bronzeye Pop in the rainforest black color, and he caught all 15 of the
keepers that he brought to the scale, plus a couple of fish he culled, from just two spots on the lake.
“ I fished three spots, but the first one I fished didn’ t produce any fish, so I eliminated it,” he says.“ I had found three spots with stained water during practice, and the first one cleared up by the time the tournament started. The other two remained stained, and I caught all my fish on those two spots. One was in about the middle of the lake, and the other one was on the lower end.”
2017 All-American Qualifiers
boaters: jason nixon, Wetumpka, Ala. jason wilson, Lincolnton, N. C. conrad Bolt, Seneca, S. C. Barry HooPer, Monticello, Ga. Brad Fowler, Townville, S. C. todd Harris, Clemmons, N. C.
Co-anglers: alex Hester, Crossville, Tenn. clarence raney, Murfreesboro, Tenn. Pat kendrick, Bumpass, Va. ricHard young, Ellenboro, N. C. jeFF scism, Shelby, N. C. marvin godard, Charlotte, N. C.
The conditions dictated Nixon’ s approach.
“ It was a really warm few days. Hot, actually, so I didn’ t worry if I was working the frog too fast,” Nixon says.“ I was pretty steady with it. Jerk, reel, jerk, reel, and I might change up the speed just slightly when I didn’ t get a bite or at least a swirl for a while.”
Nixon says that while most of his fish came on brush near docks in shallow water, he didn’ t specifically target brush near docks until about halfway through the tournament. That’ s when the pattern became clear.
“ I was just getting as many casts in as I could with the frog around brush that was in shallow water. I really think the key was brush in stained, shallow water, but when you notice another variable like close proximity to docks, it never hurts to focus more on such areas as long as the other ingredients are still there.”
Nixon won a $ 45,000 Ranger boat and $ 20,000 cash. He also qualified for the All-American on Pickwick Lake, which will be held in May.
“ It’ s the first time I’ ve won a boat, and it’ s the first time I’ ve qualified for the All-American,” he says.“ I’ ve been trying for this for 16 years, so it feels good to finally get there.”
january 2017 i FlwFisHing. com 71