MCCOY WINS FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE SOUTH CAROLINA DIVISION EVENT ON SANTEE COOPER PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

MCCOY WINS FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE SOUTH CAROLINA DIVISION EVENT ON SANTEE COOPER PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

Tapp wins co-angler title

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SUMMERTON, S.C. (April 18, 2016) – Ronnie McCoy of Lamar, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division tournament on Santee Cooper presented by Navionics. For his win, McCoy took home $5,756.

McCoy said he spent his day in the Wyboo area of Potato Creek fishing various clumps of cypress trees.

“We had a cold front blow through Friday night so the morning bite was slow, especially near trees where there wasn’t any wind,” said McCoy, who earned the second win of his career in FLW competition. “I decided to move to a group of trees that the wind was hitting on the Potato Creek side and caught three fish. The wind definitely affected how the bass were setting up in the water.”

McCoy said he threw a Buckeye Lures Su-Spin Blade spinnerbait with a white Zoom Split Tail Trailer to catch his initial keepers.

“At 1:30 p.m. I went into a smaller creek off Potato looking for spawning fish,” said McCoy. “Within 30 minutes I caught three 6-pounders off of three different beds using a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Roadkill Craw. That was the deal-maker. The craw, with its unique shape, is great for sight-fishing.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., five bass, 25-5, $3,756 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Bradford Beavers, Ridgeville, S.C., five bass, 24-8, $1,878

3^rd:          Ken Ellis, Bowman, S.C., five bass, 23-10, $1,253

4^th:          Mark Hutson, Moncks Corner, S.C., five bass, 23-4, $1,366

5^th:          Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 23-3, $751

6^th:          Jason Morse, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 22-1, $689

7^th:          Chris Gramling, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 21-9, $626

8^th:          Marty Quesada Jr., Appling, Ga., five bass, 21-7, $863

9^th:          Dustin Henson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 20-13, $501

10^th:        Brent Riley, Cross, S.C., five bass, 20-9, $438

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Hutson caught a 9-pound, 10-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $490.

Rodney Tapp of North Augusta, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,973.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Rodney Tapp, North Augusta, S.C., five bass, 15-13, $1,973

2^nd:         Jeffrey Borne, Leesville, S.C., four bass, 14-0, $876

3^rd:          Mark Wingate, Gaston, S.C., five bass, 12-7, $585

4^th:          Jack Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., four bass, 12-1, $409

5^th:          Beau Wilder, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 11-10, $351

6^th:          Randy Brown, Lugoff, S.C., four bass, 10-7, $306

6^th:          Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., three bass, 10-7, $306

8^th:          Joseph Thomasson, Columbia, S.C., four bass, 9-4, $263

9^th:          Chris Newton, Martinez, Ga., two bass, 7-11, $234

10^th:        Virgil Wicks, Gaffney, S.C., two bass, 7-1, $204

Tapp also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 8 pounds even, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $220.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, 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 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 winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart 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.