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