ON TOUR
T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE
BFL REGIONAL | LAKE LANIER
GAINESVILLE , GA .
By David A . Brown photoS by davId a . broWn
WINNING ANGLER
jayme rampey Liberty , S . C .
Winning Weight : 41-13 ( 15 fish )
details : oct . 19-21 , 2017
presented by general tire
hosted by gainesville Convention & visitors bureau
bFL regional divisions : gator , Savannah river , Shenandoah , South Carolina
While many of his competitors chased schooling fish and picked away at deep brush piles on Lake Lanier , Jayme Rampey committed to the dock game for his victory .
Rampey found that shallow fishing was best , so he spent most of his time on flatter banks near the Buford Dam . He says he hit more than 150 docks a day and caught his fish in 2 to 3 feet of water .
Rampey fished a 4 1 / 2- inch white swimbait on a 1 / 2-ounce Buckeye Lures J- Will jighead and cleaned up with a green pumpkin Zoom Fluke Stick on a 1 / 16-ounce Buckeye Lures Flick-It weedless wacky jig .
“ I fished the swimbait as fast as I could wind it , and with the Fluke Stick , I would really have to let it soak ,” Rampey says . “ The fish were way back under the dock , so I had to skip that Fluke Stick as far as I could get it .”
The week ’ s stable weather provided comfortable fishing conditions , but Rampey was particularly thankful for the mostly sunny skies , which positioned the fish tighter to cover under and around docks . He was also appreciative of the minimal winds . “ Without a lot of wind , I didn ’ t have to worry about
ALL-AMERICAN qUALIFIERS
boaterS
1 . Jayme Rampey Liberty , S . C .
2 . Jeremy Strong Elberton , Ga .
3 . Rob Jordan Flowery Branch , Ga .
4 . Roger Vinson Flowery Branch , Ga .
5 . David Nichol Gainesville , Ga .
6 . Heath Pack Ellijay , Ga . the schooling fish , and I could just stay on the bank to do what I needed to do ,” Rampey says . “ When the wind blows on a [ blueback ] herring lake , the fish school a lot . It hadn ’ t been windy , so I didn ’ t worry about them schooling and the other anglers catching them .”
Co-angLerS
1 . Eric Cerny Alpharetta , Ga .
2 . Stephen Main Chester , Va .
3 . Brandon Brock Honea Path , S . C .
4 . Jeremy Bouldin Kings Mountain , N . C .
5 . Michael Miller Greenville , S . C .
6 . Chester Tucker Seneca , S . C .
WINNING CO-ANGLER
harold grizzle gainesville , ga .
Winning Weight : 25-12 ( 12 fish )
Winning Program :
Harold Grizzle caught most of his fish on rocky main-lake points where he knew he ’ d find bass targeting crawfish . Grizzle coaxed all but one of his bites with a 1 / 4-ounce green pumpkin jig and a green pumpkin twin-tail trailer . Drop-shotting a Roboworm in the morning dawn color yielded the other keeper .
78 flWfIshIng . com I january 2018