Hopkins walks away with title on Percy Priest - Major League Fishing

Hopkins walks away with title on Percy Priest

Best wins co-angler prize
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John Hopkins of Hendersonville, Tenn., won the Sept. 28-29 Music City Division Super Tournament on Percy Priest with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 3 ounces. Hopkins earned more than $2,600 for his efforts.
September 29, 2013 • MLF • Archives

SMYRNA, Tenn. – John Hopkins of Hendersonville, Tenn., weighed in a two-day total of 10 bass for 30 pounds, 3 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Music City Division Super Tournament on Lake Percy Priest. For his victory, Hopkins earned $2,687.

John Hopkins bested the field by nearly 6 pounds to claim the win by capitalizing on a quirky bluegill behavior.

“Second place was probably doing the same thing,” said Hopkins. “I’ve got a little deal that I do every year right before the water falls. Every year the bream, a little bit bigger than your thumb, get up on the bank right before the drawdown. I don’t know how they know it. And I just flip a jig into every little crack and piece of wood and rock.

“I’m fishing flats right off of main-lake channel swings,” continued Hopkins. “I caught them all from 0- to 2-feet deep. Saturday was the perfect day; the cloudy skies hurt me a little on the second day.

“My co-angler caught one in the net for me,” said Hopkins. “It was a 3-pound fish, and it was the first fish of the first day. It felt good to win. I told my buddy that the bite was on and that I was going to win about a week ago.”

Hopkins said he caught his fish flipping a Hoppy’s Rattling Brush Bug.

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

2nd: Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., 10 bass, 24-9, $1,343

3rd: Donnie Rubel, Murfreesboro, Ill., eight bass, 21-3, $896

4th: Andrew Crabtree, Cane Ridge, Tenn., 10 bass, 20-5, $627

5th: Chad Johnson, Sparta, Tenn., seven bass, 17-0, $537

6th: Shawn Strader, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 10-9

7th: Michael Penix, Spring Hill, Tenn., four bass, 8-2

8th: Brandon Edel, Hendersonville, Tenn., four bass, 7-10

9th: Clifford Dunn, Lascassas, Tenn., three bass, 7-2

10th: Brandon Eddings, La Vergne, Tenn., four bass, 6-14

Complete results can be found here.

Best takes co-angler title

Co-angler Ken Best of Murfreesboro, Tenn., won the Sept. 28-29 Music City Divsion Super Tournament on Percy Priest with seven fish weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces. He was awarded over $1,300 for his efforts.Ken Best of Murfreesboro, Tenn., weighed in a two-day total of seven bass weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces Sunday to win $1,343 in the co-angler division.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

2nd: Matt Allen, Bloomington Springs, Tenn., five bass, 12-12, $672

3rd: Matt Farrar, Hermitage, Tenn., three bass, 8-4, $448

4th: Jeff Johnston, Nashville, Tenn., three bass, 7-3, $313

5th: Joey Kelly, Portland, Tenn., three bass, 5-4, $269

6th: Matthew Elrod, Sparta, Tenn., one bass, 4-6

7th: John Fitzpatrick, Baxter, Tenn., two bass, 4-4

8th: Charles Bennington, Scottsville, Ky., two bass, 3-14

9th: J.P. Sims, Cookeville, Tenn., two bass, 3-12

10th: Robert Bobbitt, Mount Juliet, Tenn., one bass, 3-4

Complete co-angler results can be found here.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 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 40 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 presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

About FLW

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.