TIDWELL WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE SOUTH CAROLINA DIVISION EVENT ON CLARKS HILL LAKE

MCCORMICK, S.C. (May 18, 2015) – Brian Tidwell of Seneca, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament of 2015 on Clarks Hill Lake. For his victory, Tidwell earned $3,021.

“There’s lot of talent in this division so winning is a big accomplishment for me,” said Tidwell. “I’ve fished a lot of FLW events before, but have never won one. I couldn’t be happier with how my day turned out.”

Tidwell said he focused on lower-lake clay points, in 10- to 15-foot depths, near the Clarks Hill Dam.

“Of the 20 points that I hit, there were six that really fired so I spent my day rotating through them,” said Tidwell. “I lost a 5- and 3-pounder around 8:45 a.m. and thought I was out of contention already.”

Tidwell said that he recovered and caught his winning stringer on a Carolina-rigged green-pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm. Around 2:00 p.m., he fired up a school and caught a 3-pound kicker on a chrome-colored Heddon Zara Spook to secure his win. Tidwell said he ended up catching a total of eight fish.

“The key was slowing down and using the Carolina-rigged Trick Worm. Other anglers were throwing topwater baits but I knew they were too fast for this time of the season,” concluded Tidwell.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Brian Tidwell, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 17-11, $3,021

2^nd:         Kameron Harbin, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 17-5, $1,511

3^rd:          Sammy Moody, Mauldin, S.C., five bass, 16-4, $1,007

4^th:          Wendell Causey, Jr., Columbia, S.C., five bass, 15-9, $705

5^th:          Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., five bass, 15-4, $604

6^th:          Joey Spradley, Gloverville, S.C., five bass, 14-15, $554

7^th:          Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-5, $504

8^th:          Carl Smith, Lugoff, S.C., five bass, 13-8, $453

9^th:          Anthony Marks, Spartanburg, S.C., five bass, 13-3, $403

10^th:        Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 13-2, $352

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Marks caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $345.

Greg Glouse of Liberty, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $1,511 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 12-14, $1,511

2^nd:         Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 11-15, $755

3^rd:          Calvin Sharp, Round O, S.C., five bass, 10-12, $504

4^th:          John Wilson, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 9-13, $352

5^th:          Tim Kuykendall, Laurens, S.C., five bass, 8-13, $302

6^th:          Tony Everhart, Gaffney, S.C., four bass, 8-5, $277

7^th:          Richie Dixon, Camden, S.C., three bass, 7-15, $252

8^th:          Tristen Trull, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 7-13, $227

9^th:          Carluss King, Galivants Ferry, S.C., four bass, 6-10, $201

10^th:        Adam Fincher, Roebuck, S.C., three bass, 6-3, $176

Smith caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $172.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.