ON TOUR
T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE
BFL REGIONAL | WHEELER LAKE
DECATUR, ALA.
By Dennis Sherer
photoS by dennIS Sherer
WINNING ANGLER
Kip carter
Social Circle, ga.
Winning Weight:
42-12 (15 fish)
details:
oct. 12-14, 2017
presented by ranger
hosted by decatur-
Morgan County Cvb
I
n the final two days at
Wheeler Lake, Kip Carter
caught so many fish on
a bone-colored Paycheck
Baits Repo Man topwater
bait that by tournament’s
end it was missing paint
and covered with tooth
rash – in other words, look-
ing good. The sacrifice was
worth it, too, as Carter went
home with the Regional title
and an All-American berth.
A heavy rain during prac-
tice had created fishing con-
ditions that suited Carter’s
skill for finding big bass
around drains, and he initially
targeted bass that were stag-
ing along muddy streams
flowing into the reservoir.
Carter caught his day-
one fish on spinnerbaits
and buzzbaits before
switching to the Repo Man
topwater on day two. By
the third and final round,
however, those mid-lake
rain drains had cleared,
and the fish Carter had
relied on were gone. To
make matters worse, the
water flow at the dam was
bFL regional divisions:
bama, bulldog,
Choo Choo, Music City
boosted significantly on day
three, introducing a condi-
tion change that seemed to
stump many anglers.
After striking out in the
early hours of day three and
with only one keeper in the
livewell at 11 a.m., Carter
decided to venture into feed-
er creeks looking for bass.
“It turned out to be a
good move,” he says.
Carter’s first fish after mov-
ing weighed 4 1/2 pounds.
He caught fish at a vari-
ety of depths on that final
day, even working in a
SPRO Bronzeye Frog.
“I just fished how I like to
fish, and it all fell together.”
ALL-AMERICAN qUALIFIERS
boaterS Co-angLerS
2. Tyler Morgan
Columbus, Ga. 2. Matthew O’Connell
Brooks, Ga.
1. Kip Carter
Social Circle, Ga.
3. Brandon McGinnis
Pell City, Ala.
4. John Duvall
Madison, Ga.
5. Adam Wagner
Cookeville, Tenn.
6. Grant Kelly
Milledgeville, Ga.
january 2018 I flWfIshIng.com
1. Michael Smith
Piedmont, S.C.
3. Matthew Bouldin
Smithville, Tenn.
4. Harold Grizzle
Gainesville, Ga.
5. Daniel Tuten
Byron, Ga.
6. Chris Harcrow
Dawson, Ala.
WINNING CO-ANGLER
michael smith
piedmont, S.C.
Winning Weight:
36-14 (15 fish)
Winning Program:
Among the baits
Smith used were a
SPRO Little John
crankbait (citrus shad), a
green pumpkin home-
made spider jig with
a matching Yamamoto
Double Tail Hula Grub
trailer, a homemade
black and blue swim jig,
and a drop-shot rig.
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