ON TOUR
T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE
BFL WINNING TACTICS
Arkie – Lake Hamilton – Sept. 23-24 Boater: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark. – 20-08 Winding a buzzbait in less than 2 feet of water Co-angler: Trevor Delaney, Benton, Ark. – 18-07
Bama – Pickwick Lake – Sept. 23-24 Boater: Tommy Hensley, Jackson, Ga. – 28-11 Fishing a 3 / 8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait around isolated wood in the mid-lake area Co-angler: Josh Hamilton, Maben, Miss. – 20-15
Buckeye – Lake Erie – Sept. 16-17 Boater: Hunter Colwell, Zanesfield, Ohio – 35-10 Dragging a Strike King KVD Dream Shot( smoke) on a drop-shot rig on four rock piles in 8 to 14 feet of water near Middle Bass Island Co-angler: Trevor Howard, Union, Ky. – 28-11
Bulldog – Lake Lanier – Sept. 9-10 Boater: Brad Wiley, Alto, Ga. – 28-02 Targeting schoolers on the south end of the lake near a hump, ridge, channel swing and standing timber with a Fish Head Spin( white) and Zoom Super Fluke( pearl white) or a Megabass Vision 110 Co-angler: Spencer Sato, Warner Robins, Ga. – 22-04
Choo Choo – Lake Guntersville – Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Boater: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala. – 34-09 Frogging a 20-yard stretch of milfoil surrounded by hydrilla with a Jackall Kaera Frog( black), and flipping a Jackall Archelon( black and blue) Co-angler: Chris Harcrow, Dawson, Ala. – 22-05
Cowboy – Toledo Bend – Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Boater: Glen Freeman, Zwolle, La. – 37-11 Dragging a Texas-rigged Double Z Lures Magnum T-Worm( red bug) and a Mister Twister worm on offshore ridges above Pendleton Bridge in 15 to 20 feet of water Co-angler: Justin Shelton, Kemp, Texas – 27-07
Gator – Lake Okeechobee – Sept. 23-24 Boater: Jessie Mizell, Sarasota, Fla. – 42-12 Targeting schooling fish in the northeastern part of the lake using a 6th Sense crankbait Co-angler: Mike LaPorta, Port Charlotte, Fla. – 38-04
Great Lakes – Miss. River( La Crosse) – Sept. 16-17 Boater: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis. – 36-10 Swimming a Humdinger Swim Jig with a 3 1 / 2-inch Yamamoto Swimming Senko trailer( white) through weeds that were 5 feet down and near the current, but not in it, and also targeting some spots in the 20-foot range on Saturday; swimming the same jig with a 3 3 / 4-inch Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog( black and blue) with all but the tail trimmed off on Sunday Co-angler: Richard Conrad, Burnsville, Minn. – 27-11
Hoosier – Ohio River – Sept. 9-10 Boater: Clyde McNaron, Trenton, Ohio – 18-00 Flipping the ends of laydowns near a creek channel with a Zoom Brush Hog and Mizmo tube, and casting topwater around laydowns and stumps on flats Co-angler: Jim Krider, North Vernon, Ind. – 11-02
Illini – Rend Lake – Sept. 16-17 Boater: Greg Mullins, Mount Vernon, Ill. – 28-10 Targeting shallow riprap and wood on the north end of the lake with a 3 / 8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait( chartreuse / white) with a Zoom Super Chunk trailer( green pumpkin) and a Zoom UV Speed Worm( green pumpkin) Co-angler: Archie Eslinger, Paris, Ill. – 19-11
LBL – Kentucky / Barkley – Sept. 9-10 Boater: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio – 40-10 Walking an Evergreen SB-125( bone) over 1- to 2-foot-deep bars and flats with wood cover near Paris, Tenn. Co-angler: Ryan Dowell, Brandenburg, Ky. – 22-12
Michigan – Detroit River – Sept. 16-17 Boater: Joshua Barr, Stow, Ohio – 49-01 Dragging 3 1 / 2-inch tubes( green pumpkin) and soft jerkbaits( perch) on drop-shots on rock piles near islands Co-angler: Gary Polenz, Milan, Mich. – 43-07
Mississippi – Ross Barnett Reservoir – Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Boater: Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala. – 24-06 Fishing offshore with a 10-inch Berkley PowerBait Power Worm( black) in 10 to 14 feet of water and in shallower brush piles Co-angler: Hunter Utley, Cordova, Tenn. – 19-00
Mountain – Barren River – Sept. 23-24 Boater: Casey O’ Donnell, Langston, Ala. – 23-15 Flipping a 1 / 2-ounce Gambler Jigzilla with a Strike King Rage Menace( green pumpkin) trailer around stumps and laydowns on the ends of channel-swing banks in 2 1 / 2 to 5 feet of water on the south end of the river, as well as throwing a SPRO Bronzeye Pop( albino) Co-angler: Chad Hill, Marion, Ill. – 19-15
Music City – Old Hickory – Sept. 16-17 Boater: Rocco Simeri, Murfreesboro, Tenn. – 22-08 Fishing secondary points in the creeks using a Jewel Bait Co. Finesse Jig( Texas craw) with a Zoom Z Craw Jr. trailer( watermelon red) Co-angler: Travis Puckett, Monroe, Tenn. – 10-04
North Carolina – Lake Norman – Sept. 9-10 Boater: Robert Walser, Lexington, N. C. – 25-06 Winding a buzzbait( white), fishing isolated wood with a Zoom Finesse Worm and flipping docks with a Zoom Brush Hog Co-angler: Tobey Lawson, Raleigh, N. C. – 18-10
Northeast – 1000 Islands – Sept. 9-10 Boater: Travis Manson, Conshohocken, Pa. – 44-02 Drop-shotting a 4-inch Gajo Baits Spirit Shad( smoke purple and blue highlight) on a ledge in Lake Ontario in 18 to 40 feet of water and on isolated rock piles Co-angler: Drew Tiano, Hudson, N. Y. – 40-13
Okie – Grand Lake – Sept. 9-10 Boater: Curt Warren, Rose, Okla. – 31-15 Junk-fishing on the north end of the lake around docks and wood in less than 10 feet of water on the bank using a 1 / 2- ounce Bass-X football-head jig Co-angler: Alan Hill, Ada, Okla. – 22-09
Ozark – Lake of the Ozarks – Sept. 16-17 Boater: Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo. – 37-14 Fishing mid-lake brush piles in 14 feet of water using an unnamed crankbait and a Zoom Brush Hog Co-angler: Aaron Strohkirch, Camdenton, Mo. – 28-01
Piedmont – Kerr Lake – Sept. 23-24 Boater: Jonathon Guins, Wendell, N. C. – 24-13 Fishing topwater and a Carolina-rigged Zoom Trick Worm in 3 to 6 feet on mid-lake points and pockets Co-angler: Craig Wright, Rustburg, Va. – 18-10
Savannah River – Lake Hartwell – Sept. 16-17 Boater: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S. C. – 26-06 Covering water and fishing fast along a 30-mile stretch, focusing on stumps, wood and docks with a Zoom Horny Toad( white) and a Buckeye Lures jig with a Zoom UV Speed Craw( green pumpkin) trailer Co-angler: Beau Govreau, Cedar Hill, Mo. – 20-09
Shenandoah – James River – Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Boater: Keith Estes, Spring Grove, Va. – 28-00 Running the incoming tide, targeting wood in 3 to 5 feet of water with a Berkley PowerBait Power Worm( blue fleck) and crankbaits Co-angler: Jonathan Sayers, Wytheville, Va. – 19-10
South Carolina – Lake Wylie – Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Boater: Willie McMullen, Oxford, Ga. – 26-03 Fishing a milk run of wood and docks in the South Fork Catawba River with a Z-Man ChatterBait( white), Picasso Dinn-R- Bell buzzbait( black) and Zoom Dead Ringer worm( junebug) Co-angler: Mark Wingate, Gaston, S. C. – 16-04
Volunteer – Watts Bar Lake – Sept. 23-24 Boater: Brian Holcomb, Madisonville, Tenn. – 22-01 Winding a 3 / 8-ounce buzzbait or Gambler Cane Toad around isolated milfoil clumps in less than 2 feet of water with deeper water in front of the grass, focusing on mid-lake pockets near Euchee Marina Resort Co-angler: Chris Viers, Haysi, Va. – 14-04
70 flWfIshIng. com I november-december 2017