KINGSTON’S HENLEY WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE VOLUNTEER DIVISION FINALE ON WATTS BAR LAKE
Seymour’s Brumett Takes Co-angler Title
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ROCKWOOD, Tenn. (Sept. 17, 2018) – Boater Chase Henley of Kingston, Tennessee, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division tournament on Watts Bar Lake Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 15 ounces. For his win, Henley earned $5,126.
“On Saturday I caught them around the Kingston area of the lake. I caught them as the water was falling – I kind of moved out with the fish,” said Henley, who earned his first career win FLW competition. “I probably had four areas and fished laydowns and seawalls with a jig and buzzbait.”
Henley said he used a ½-ounce Green Pumpkin Craw-colored Strike King Greg Hackney Hack Attack jig with a Hematoma-colored Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver for the laydowns, and a 3/8-ounce Showboat Lures buzzbait with a white Zoom Split Tail trailer on the seawalls.
“I started out with the buzzbait on the seawalls, but when the sun came out I switched to the jig and laydowns,” said Henley. “They didn’t want to chase anything after the sun came out. I caught about eight keepers total.”
On Sunday, as the water level continued to fall, Henley said he ran to a part of the lake near the Kingston steam plant and the mouth of the Emory River. He said he targeted visible isolated wood and rocky points and was able to put around 13 keepers in the boat.
“It was more of a pattern on Day Two,” said Henley. “I started out with the buzzbait, and then switched to a homemade vibrating jig with a white (Zoom Z-Craw) trailer when it got windy. I saw some bubbles on the retrieve which means a change in pressure, and usually the buzzbait bite does better with that. That’s when I started catching them on both lures.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Chase Henley, Kingston, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-15, $5,126
2nd: Marcus Jackson, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-13, $2,763
3rd: Ken Vicchio, Bluff City, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-9, $2,009
4th: John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-5, $1,196
5th: Derrick Snavely, Piney Flats, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-15, $1,125
6th: Kevin Edwards, Knoxville, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-13, $940
7th: Troy Redwine, Crossville, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-10, $854
8th: Archie Wilson Jr., Corryton, Tenn., nine bass, 25-4, $769
9th: Joshua Short, Bean Station, Tenn., eight bass, 22-13, $998
10th: Derrick Blake, Rockwood, Tenn., eight bass, 22-3, $598
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Rob Linkous of Rogersville, Tennessee, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $315.
Larry Brumett Jr. of Seymour, Tennessee, caught a two-day total of nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,641.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Larry Brumett Jr., Seymour, Tenn., nine bass, 23-3, $2,641
2nd: Tony Brown, Harriman, Tenn., six bass, 16-2, $1,270
3rd: Jason Ridenour, Loudon, Tenn., six bass, 15-2, $814
4th: Tim Godsey, Chickamauga, Ga., six bass, 14-13, $570
5th: Bradley Watts, Afton, Tenn., six bass, 13-10, $488
6th: Jaylen Andrews, Culleoka, Tenn., six bass, 13-6, $447
7th: Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., six bass, 12-13, $407
8th: Travis Nelson, Wartburg, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $666
9th: Bill Freshour, Strawplains, Tenn., five bass, 11-12, $325
10th: Matt Brown, Harriman, Tenn., four bass, 10-11, $285
Nelson caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 6 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $300.
The 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Volunteer Division finale on Watts Bar Lake was hosted by the Roane County Visitors Bureau.
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. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. 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 2018 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. The 2019 BFL All-American will take place May 30-June 1 on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagra