Rubbo Top Dog on Wylie

Sharp takes co-angler title in South Carolina Super Tournament

Tom Rubbo of Lexington, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 6 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division Super Tournament on Lake Wylie, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 14 ounces. Rubbo pocketed $4,531 for his win.

“The lake was challenging, but I was able to get on a shallow-water pattern,” says Rubbo, who logged his first win in FLW competition. “There was a lot of baitfish in the creeks, so I targeted them.”

Rubbo fished the lower end of the lake and rotated between six different creeks.

“I caught one keeper on a small Luck-E-Strike Rick Clunn Crankbait on day one,” says Rubbo. “I fished toward the backs of the creeks and ended up catching around 10 keepers with a few different lures.

“On Sunday, I rotated between three of the creeks,” Rubbo continues. “I caught a limit and culled three or four bass by 10:30 a.m. After that, I realized the fish in my school were all similar-sized, so I spent the remainder of the day looking for a bigger catch.”

Rubbo says he used the Lucky-E-Strike crankbait the entire day Sunday and was able to put eight keepers in the boat.

“I really fished clean – I only lost one bass all weekend,” says Rubbo. “I was able to keep the trolling motor down and maximize my fishing time.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Tom Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., 10 bass, 24-14, $4,531

2^nd:         Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., eight bass, 19-8, $2,465

3^rd:          Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., eight bass, 18-8, $1,611

4^th:          Willie McMullen, Oxford, Ga., eight bass, 16-8, $1,057

5^th:          Maurice Freeze, Concord, N.C., seven bass, 15-14, $1,206

6^th:          Parks Jones Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., six bass, 13-6, $831

7^th:          Joey Sabbagha, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 13-4, $1,272

8^th:          Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., seven bass, 12-12, $680

9^th:          Johnathan Crossland, Chapin, S.C., six bass, 12-10, $604

10^th:        Winston Husband, Gilbert, S.C., six bass, 11-12, $529

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 

Sabbagha caught a bass weighing 5 pounds even – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $517.

Sharp wins co-angler title

Calvin Sharp of Round O, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and earned $2,200 with a two-day cumulative catch of six bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Calvin Sharp, Round O, S.C., six bass, 11-13, $2,200

2^nd:         Khris Williams, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 9-12, $1,300

3^rd:          David Hutcherson, Campobello, S.C., four bass, 9-6, $734

4^th:          Donald Black, Fort Mill, S.C., four bass, 8-4, $513

5^th:          Lee Inman, Inman, S.C., four bass, 7-13, $490

6^th:          Rodney Tapp, North Augusta, S.C., three bass, 6-8, $403

7^th:          Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., two bass, 5-7, $618

8^th:          Adam Fincher, Roebuck, S.C., two bass, 5-7, $330

9^th:          Randy Brown, Lugoff, S.C., two bass, 4-11, $293

10^th:        Mark Wingate, Gaston, S.C., three bass, 4-1, $257

Ruff caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $251.

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, Gerogia. 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.