ON TOUR
COSTA FLW SERIES
COSTA FLW SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP | KENTUCKY LAKE
PARIS, TENN.
By Jody White
WINNING ANGLER
Bradford Beavers
ridgeville, S.C.
Winning Weight:
45-12 (15 fish)
details:
nov. 2-4, 2017
presented by Costa
Sunglasses
hosted by henry County
tourism authority
B
radford Beavers has
qualified for the
Forrest Wood Cup in
back-to-back years via the
Costa FLW Series
Championship. It’s no sur-
prise that Beavers, who
hails from the bass-rich
lowlands of South Carolina,
has excelled in the
Southeastern Division, but
lately he’s displayed a talent
for tackling tough fall tour-
naments in other regions
as well. At the champi-
onship on Table Rock in
2016, his strong start by
FORREST WOOD CUP qUALIFIERS
the top finisher
from each division,
as well as the next
five highest finish-
ers overall, quali-
fied for the 2018
Forrest Wood Cup.
72
cranking offshore rock car-
ried him into the top 10
and the Cup. And in 2017,
the Ridgeville, S.C., native
took to the shallow bars of
Kentucky Lake to triumph
over a field loaded with the
best the Costa FLW Series
has to offer.
Fishing shallow bars in
the fall on Kentucky Lake is
nothing novel, but it nearly
didn’t happen for Beavers,
who crashed and burned
the first few days of prac-
tice when the weather was
frigid and the forecast for
dIvISIonaL WInnerS
Southeastern division – bradford beavers
Central division – todd hollowell
Southwestern division – John Soukup
International division – Michael Matthee (South africa)
northern division – bill Chapman
Western division – brent Shores
the tournament was down-
right foreboding. However,
on the final prep day,
Beavers found his winning
holes just north of New
Johnsonville, Tenn.
“I wanted to fish down
there because I saw it had
more shallow water, and
that’s where the grass used
to be from what I read,”
says Beavers, who needed
35 hours in practice to
catch his first keeper. “But
when I saw the forecast I
was a little bit scared of the
wind. I know it gets rough
addItIonaL QuaLIFIerS
Larry Stoafer
tim Fox
Chad Foster
Jason abram
Sheldon Collings
flWfIshIng.com I january 2018