Jennings Ran Shallow History

Ward earns co-angler award on Lake Wylie

Jeff Jennings of Rock Hill, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division event on Lake Wylie. Jennings took home $5,945 for his victory.

“I’ve fished Lake Wylie all of my life and I went to places where I had caught fish before,” says Jennings, who earned his third career win in BFL competition. “It was a tough day – I only caught six keepers. But, they were all the same size. They looked like brothers and sisters. It was just my day.”

Jennings covered a lot of water, flipping wood, trees and docks all over the lake, from the dam to up the river.

“I fished a Texas-rigged black and brown creature bait all day,” Jennings says. “It seemed like a lot of people were fishing deep, so I took a chance fishing shallow. We hit a lot of places and we’d go for a long time without a bite. I never dreamed that my 4-11 would win big bass, but it was tough on everybody.”

The top 10 boaters:             

1^st:          Jeff Jennings, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 19-3, $5,945

2^nd:         Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., five bass, 13-5, $1,953

3^rd:         Christopher Kanute, Townville, S.C., five bass, 12-15, $1,169

4^th:         Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 12-12, $918

5^th:         Cole Huskins, Mount Holly, N.C. five bass, 12-7, $701

6^th:         Klaus Hadschin, Granite Falls, N.C., five bass, 12-1, $613

6^th:         Russell Corry, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 12-1, $613

8^th:         Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 11-12, $826

9^th:         Scott Beattie, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 11-7, $467

10^th:       Jason Barnes, Concord, N.C., five bass, 11-4, $409

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Jennings caught a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass, which was the heaviest of the tournament in the Boater Division. The catch also earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $440.

Wards wins Co-angler Division

Tyler Ward of Grover, North Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $1,973.

The top 10 co-anglers:             

1^st:          Tyler Ward, Grover, N.C., five bass, 12-15, $1,973

2^nd:         Louis Kraft, Salisbury, N.C., four bass, 10-8, $1,076

3^rd:         Charles Wood, Thomasville, N.C., five bass, 9-12, $585

4^th:         Brent Kukowski, Fort Mill, S.C., five bass, 9-4, $459

5^th:         Greg Fox, Fayetteville, N.C., five bass, 9-1, $351

6^th:         Brian Transon, Sherrills Ford, N.C., five bass, 8-12, $321

7^th:         Bobby Henderson, Charlotte, N.C., four bass, 8-10, $292

8^th:         Nathan Grose, Summersville, W.Va., five bass, 8-5, $263

9^th:         Brian Mann, Ballard, W.Va., four bass, 8-4, $234

10^th:       Maverick Canipe, Kings Mountain, N.C., four bass, 7-15, $204

Ward weighed a bass weighing 5 pounds even, which also earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award and $220.

The T-H Marine BFL at Lake Wylie was hosted by the Rock Hill/York County Convention & 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. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the James River in Williamsburg, Virginia. 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.