DENSON WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE MISSISSIPPI DIVISION EVENT ON ROSS BARNETT RESERVOIR

BRANDON, Miss. (June 1, 2015) – Shannon Denson of Brandon, Mississippi, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division tournament of 2015 on Ross Barnett Reservoir. For his victory, Denson earned $4,618.

Denson said he started his day targeting bass in lily pads using a frog, but couldn’t find the bite.

“I had found good fish at these spots before the tournament but it wasn’t firing like I had hoped, so I decided to make a run,” said Denson. “I went to a submerged island and got my limit using a Strike King Jointed Structure Head jig rigged with a Blue Sapphire-colored Menace Twin Tail grub. The fish were in only about 18 inches of water.

“After catching the limit I spent my day trying to fire up schools on main-lake ledges and humps,” continued Denson. “I’d throw a Strike King KVD 8.0 Squarebill Magnum Crankbait to get the fish moving and then I’d switch to a Strike King Series 3 crankbait to clean up. Looking back, the Series 3 got the most bites.”

After the day concluded, Denson figured he had caught around 40 fish.

“The first drops right outside of the spawning areas is where the best fish came from,” said Denison. “Luckily, I was there to find them.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Shannon Denson, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 23-2, $4,618

2^nd:         Larry Rochelle, Canton, Miss., five bass, 17-4, $2,309

3^rd:          Tony Owen, Carthage, Miss., five bass, 14-3, $1,539

4^th:          Mike Norsworthy, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 13-12, $1,078

5^th:          Bill Jarvis, De Kalb, Miss., five bass, 13-3, $924

6^th:          Jason Forman, Philadelphia, Miss., five bass, 12-15, $847

7^th:          Joel Barber, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 12-8, $770

8^th:          Alfred Williams, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 12-6, $693

9^th:          Garrett Riles, Potts Camp, Miss., three bass, 12-2, $616

10^th:        David Dove, Steens, Miss., five bass, 12-0, $539

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Todd Reed of Brandon, Mississippi, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $680.

Jon Hutzel of Brandon, Mississippi, weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win $2,309 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Jon Hutzel, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 14-3, $2,309

2^nd:         Bernard Crump, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 11-2, $1,155

3^rd:          Owen Dhonau, Canton, Miss., five bass, 10-11, $770

4^th:          Ryan Moore, Cedar Bluff, Miss., five bass, 10-6, $539

5^th:          John Gammill, Petal, Miss., four bass, 10-0, $462

6^th:          Scott Kirk, Booneville, Miss., five bass, 9-15, $423

7^th:          John Goul, Philadelphia, Miss., five bass, 9-14, $385

8^th:          Joel Ross, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 9-9, $346

9^th:          Jerry Perry, Olive Branch, Miss., five bass, 9-0, $308

10^th:        Austin Savell, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 8-15, $269

Joe Cornelius of Corinth, Mississippi, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $340.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Alabama. 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.