ON TOUR
T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE
BFL WINNING TACTICS
Arkie – Arkansas River – April 22 Boater: Kyle Henderson, Sheridan, Ark. – 16-00 Winding a white spinnerbait, shad-colored Z-Man ChatterBait and sexy shad Strike King 2.5 square-bill crankbait through grass where shad were spawning in a Pool 5 backwater Co-angler: Dusty Rhoades, Gravelly, Ark. – 14-13
Arkie – Lake Ouachita – May 13 Boater: Josh Ray, Alexander, Ark. – 15-01 Swimming a 3 / 8-ounce green pumpkin swim jig with a Zoom Z Craw trailer through water willow in 3 to 5 feet of water, and walking a Paycheck Baits Repo Man topwater Co-angler: Kendal Norman, Benton, Ark. – 9-09
Bama – Lake Eufaula – April 29 Boater: Josh Bragg, Jacksonville, Ala. – 22-13 Cranking shallow ledges with spawning shad using sexy shad and citrus shad Strike King 5XD crankbaits or fishing brush piles on mainlake ledges with a Carolina-rigged green pumpkin Zoom Brush Hog and a Texas-rigged plum Zoom‘ Ol Monster Worm Co-angler: Emory Walden, Newnan, Ga. – 18-01
Buckeye – Grand Lake St. Mary’ s – May 6 Boater: Scott Manson, Covington, Ohio – 12-09 Dragging a D & L Tackle Advantage Jig with a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer on rocky banks in 5 to 6 feet of water, focusing on areas with clean water and the river grass along the old flooded bank Co-angler: Billy Crider Jr., Kettering, Ohio – 9-00
Bulldog – Lake Eufaula – May 13 Boater: Shane Powell, Midland City, Ala. – 25-02 Working bank grass with a BOOYAH Pad Crasher frog and a breamcolored swim jig with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer Co-angler: Steve Hall, Mableton, Ga. – 14-04
Choo Choo – Lake Guntersville – May 20 Boater: Chris Mayfield, Phil Campbell, Ala. – 23-14 Ledge fishing in the mid-lake area with a Carolina-rigged Zoom Lizard and a jig Co-angler: Johnny Pittman, Albertville, Ala. – 14-15
Cowboy – Toledo Bend – May 6 Boater: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla. – 30-15 Targeting 20- to 24-foot-deep stump rows on a breakline near Three Mile Bridge with an 8-inch Gene Larew TattleTail Worm in green pumpkin or red bug lite on a 7 / 16-ounce Gene Larew Biffle HardHead Co-angler: Michael Greer Jr., DeRidder, La. – 16-9
Gator – Lake Okeechobee – April 22 Boater: Jessie Mizell, Sarasota, Fla. – 30-04 Frogging lily pads and hydrilla in a protected cove on the North Shore using a SPRO Bronzeye Popping Frog Co-angler: Christopher Jerdan, Cape Coral, Fla. – 26-00
Great Lakes – Mississippi River( La Crosse) – April 29 Boater: Cade Laufenberg, Winona, Minn. – 22-03 Fishing for smallmouths in Pool 8 on a current seam on a wing dam near a spawning area using a 5-inch pearly shad-colored Big Bite Baits Suicide Shad swimbait on a 1 / 8-ounce Gamakatsu Superline Swimbait Head, and fishing the mouth of a small spawning pocket Co-angler: Shawn Overton, Coal Valley, Ill. – 15-01
Illini – Lake Shelbyville – April 22 Boater: Mike McGill, Findlay, Ill. – 17-12 Targeting rock on channel swings near spawning flats in about 3 feet of water using a 1 / 2-ounce Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait and a Luck-E-Strike square-bill Co-angler: Scott McCleery, Winchester, Ill. – 14-12
Illini – Rend Lake – May 13 Boater: Marty Sisk, Evansville, Ind. – 10-12 Fishing flooded bushes and trees on points and in pockets in areas with the cleanest water on the lower end using a 3 / 4-ounce chartreuse and white Mann’ s Classic Spinnerbait and a green pumpkin Lunker Lure jig with a Zoom Super Chunk trailer treated with Strike Force fish attractant Co-angler: Brandon Depew, Odin, Ill. – 4-03
LBL – Kentucky / Barkley – May 6 Boater: Freddy Adkins, East Bernstadt, Ky. – 22-12 Bumping bottom along the original shoreline( the lake was several feet high) along a 200-yard stretch in Little River using a chartreuse and white BOOYAH spinnerbait with No. 6 and No. 3 blades Co-angler: Ryan Dowell, Brandenburg, Ky. – 15-08
Mississippi – Pickwick Lake – May 6 Boater: Charles Watts, Corinth, Miss. – 20-6 Fishing a jig along a bluff wall, and fishing 15- to 18-foot-deep humps and flats with a sexy blueback herring or sexy shad Strike King 6XD crankbait Co-angler: Anthony Wilson, Greenville, Miss. – 18-12
Mountain – Lake Cumberland – May 6 Boater: Pat Eichmann, Nancy, Ky. – 19-03 Targeting spawning smallmouths 15 to 25 feet down near standing timber in a main-lake creek arm using a BassTrix swimbait for most of his fish, and also a watermelon red Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm on a 1 / 4-ounce shaky head Co-angler: Shane Vickers, Tyner, Ky. – 11-05
Music City – Tims Ford – April 29 Boater: Greg Rollins, Monteagle, Tenn. – 15-15 Dragging a Carolina rig on pea gravel for postspawn smallmouths Co-angler: John Davenport, Huntsville, Ala. – 12-00
Music City – Percy Priest – May 13 Boater: Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn. – 20-03 Carolina rigging a green pumpkin Zoom Brush Hog on a point between an island and the main shoreline in 6 to 10 feet of water, and on shallow rock on an island in the Stones River Co-angler: John Davenport, Huntsville, Ala. – 15-05
North Carolina – Kerr Lake – May 20 Boater: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N. C. – 18-00 Keying on the shad spawn around flooded bushes in Nutbush Creek using a ghost minnow Lucky Craft Sammy topwater Co-angler: Barry Burford, Charlotte, N. C. – 14-02
Northeast – Potomac River – April 22 Boater: Derek Brown, Charlottesville, Va. – 20-05 Slow-rolling a Z-Man ChatterBait or a white Strike King Tour Grade Swim Jig through grass in 5 feet of water in a spawning bay near the mouth of Aquia Creek Co-angler: Andrew Heivley, Malvern, Pa. – 17-13
Northeast – Chesapeake Bay – May 13 Boater: Dan Rodriguez, Monkton, Md. – 19-11 Targeting wood and rock in 6 to 8 feet of water with a homemade jig and a black and blue Berkley Havoc Pit Boss trailer Co-angler: Richard O’ Brien, Stony Point, N. Y. – 10-01
Okie – Lake Eufaula – May 20 Boater: Phillip Lunceford, Stigler, Okla. – 16-00 Flipping bushes with three Texas-rigged soft plastics, including a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, a Strike King Rodent and a Gene Larew Salt Craw Co-angler: David Lansford, Muskogee, Okla. – 15-10
Piedmont – Lake Gaston – April 29 Boater: Raymond Jones III, Statesville, N. C. – 16-11 Fishing the mid-lake area in water that wasn’ t too clear or too muddy using a homemade spinnerbait and two soft-plastic lures Co-angler: Michael Davis, New London, N. C. – 16-07
Savannah River – Lake Hartwell – May 6 Boater: Heath Pack, Ellijay, Ga. – 18-10 Targeting the shad spawn around boat docks and submerged grass in the Tugaloo River using a Z-Man ChatterBait with a 3.8-inch sight flash-colored Keitech Swing Impact swimbait and a chartreuse shad 5 / 8-ounce Lucky Craft SKT Spinnerbait, and flipping brush between docks with a 1 / 2-ounce Strike King Hack Attack Jig with a black and blue trailer Co-angler: Tim Watson, Martin, Ga. – 13-12
Shenandoah – Potomac River – May 6 Boater: Aaron Dixon, Bel Alton, Md. – 21-09 Targeting spawning bass 4 feet down on pea gravel and prespawn and postspawn bass 6 to 10 feet deep in grass using a black and blue Yamamoto Senko Co-angler: Craig Wright, Rustburg, Va. – 17-10
South Carolina – Clarks Hill Lake – April 22 Boater: Chris Marshall, Forest City, N. C. – 18-03 Targeting blueback herring-eating largemouths on main-lake and secondary points using a chrome Lucky Craft Gunfish topwater and a Katch-Her Lures jig Co-angler: Brandon Jeffcoat, Columbia, S. C. – 16-03
South Carolina – Lake Wateree – May 13 Boater: Mel Long, Hampton, S. C. – 15-07 Targeting flat main-lake points with a 1 / 2-ounce swim jig with a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer and a green pumpkin Zoom Magnum Trick Worm on a Texas rig or shaky head Co-angler: Greg Atkinson, Ridgeway, S. C. – 17-04
Volunteer – South Holston – April 22 Boater: Josh Osborne, Bristol, Va. – 21-10 Targeting spawning smallmouths on a rough, rocky patch atop a single hump using a Texas-rigged 4-inch green pumpkin Berkley straight-tail worm Co-angler: Steven Brady, Woodlawn, Va. – 17-07
Volunteer – Douglas Lake – May 13 Boater: Keith McDeerman, Jacksboro, Tenn. – 19-00 Fishing 20 to 25 feet deep on mid-lake points and humps next to deeper water using a Strike King 10XD Co-angler: Justin McGaha, Knoxville, Tenn. – 16-08
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FLWFISHING. COM I JULY 2017