SULLIVAN WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OPENER ON ROSS BARNETT RESERVOIR
Jackson’s Churchill tops Co-angler field
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BRANDON, Miss. (March 20, 2017) – Local angler Corey Sullivan of Brandon, weighed in three bass totaling 12 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the first T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mississippi Division event of 2017 on Ross Barnett Reservoir. Sullivan took home $5,457 for his victory.
“In the morning I fished my go-to area but there wasn’t much action,” said Sullivan, who logged his first career-win in FLW competition. “When I left, I noticed there were a lot of boats scrambling. Those two observations told me it was going to be a slow day.
“I began running points with hard bottoms,” continued Sullivan. “I threw a Black Back and Chartreuse-colored Strike King KVD Rattling Square Bill Crankbait and caught one keeper. That catch told me where the bass were in terms of depth. Everyone else was expecting them to be shallow, but the water temperature had dropped. I knew I had to slow down, so that’s what I did.”
Sullivan said he also threw a June Bug-colored Zoom Lizard and a ½-ounce black and blue-colored Strike King Hack Attack Jig.
“Most of my bass came from 4½ to 5 feet of water,” said Sullivan. “Each of my three baits ended up producing a bass that I weighed in. I knew I had solid fish, but I didn’t think a few 3- or 4-pounders was going to win it. I was pleasantly surprised.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Corey Sullivan, Brandon, Miss., three bass, 12-12, $5,457
2nd: Bradley Burns, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 12-1, $2,728
3rd: Teddy Cranford, Seminary, Miss., five bass, 11-15, $2,019
4th: Percy Jones, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 11-14, $1,273
5th: John Goul, Philadelphia, Miss., four bass, 11-8, $1,091
6th: Ramey Harrell, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 11-5, $1,000
7th: John Bailey, Terry, Miss., four bass, 11-1, $909
8th: Alan Smith, Brandon, Miss., four bass, 11-0, $919
9th: Kenny Churchill, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 10-8, $728
10th: Bob Garrison, Baldwyn, Miss., three bass, 10-6, $1,512
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Garrison caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $875.
Nick Churchill of Jackson, Mississippi, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $3,317.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Nick Churchill, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 12-10, $3,317
2nd: Mike Allen, Crystal Springs, Miss., four bass, 9-6, $1,395
3rd: Weston Smedley, Birmingham, Ala., three bass, 8-12, $899
4th: David Hug, Collierville, Tenn., two bass, 6-14, $628
5th: Kameron Johnson, Brandon, Miss., two bass, 6-13, $538
6th: Jason Swanner, West Memphis, Ark., four bass, 6-11, $493
7th: Jason Rankin, Flora, Miss., three bass, 6-6, $448
8th: Daniel Corkern, Florence, Miss., two bass, 6-2, $404
9th: Lance Jackson, Starkville, Miss., two bass, 5-15, $359
10th: Nicholas Quaintance, Russellville, Ala., three bass, 5-12, $314
Churchill also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $427.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on the Red River in Bossier City, Louisiana. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.