Vannerson Wins T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League Tournament on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes
Illinois’ McBride Wins Co-Angler Title
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Boater Rob Vannerson of Benton, Kentucky, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) LBL Division tournament on Kentucky and Barkley lakes Saturday with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces. For his efforts, Vannerson pocketed $2,977.
Vannerson said he stayed on the north end of Kentucky Lake, fishing from Moors Marina down to Ledbetter Creek. He said he fished ledges all day, preferring a 5/8-ounce, brown D&L Tackle shaky-head jig with a Yum Dinger worm.
“I fished 20 to 25 feet down pretty much all day. We had a full moon on Saturday night and the big females that came off the beds were sitting out there recovering,” said Vannerson, who earned his second career victory of 2019 on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in BFL competition. “That’s why I didn’t use moving baits. They weren’t chasing anything, and I had to slow down.
“I just dragged the worm on the bottom on the shell beds. I probably fished 30 spots, catching one here and there,” continued Vannerson. “I only caught six keepers, and weighed all largemouth.”
Vannerson said he used a 7-foot, 3-inch medium-heavy Fitzgerald Stunner HD Series Casting Rod and Lew’s Tournament Pro SX 7:1 reel spooled with 17-pound-test Seaguar Red Label fluorocarbon line.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Rob Vannerson, Benton, Ky., five bass, 18-15, $2,977
2nd: Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 17-9, $1,989
3rd: Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., five bass, 16-14, $992
4th: Chris Hellebuyck, Waterford, Mich., five bass, 16-8, $695
5th: Harry Barber, Earlington, Ky., five bass, 15-6, $595
6th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, five bass, 15-4, $896
7th: Kevin Caskey, Madisonville, Ky., five bass, 13-6, $496
8th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., four bass, 13-5, $447
9th: John Wright, Windsor, Ill., four bass, 12-15, $397
10th: Larry Frasier, Owensboro, Ky., five bass, 12-9, $347
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Hunter Mills of Mayfield, Kentucky, caught a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $340.
Paul McBride of Vienna, Illinois, won the Co-angler Division and $1,489 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Paul McBride, Vienna, Ill., four bass, 12-7, $1,489
2nd: Ricky Boehringer, Troy, Ohio, three bass, 12-5, $1,014
3rd: Alan Scott, Shelbyville, Ind., four bass, 9-12, $497
4th: Barry Gunter, Trafalger, Ind., four bass, 8-11, $397
5th: Charles Richardson III, Dyersburg, Tenn., two bass, 7-4, $298
6th: Mike Arnold, Batavia, Ohio, three bass, 6-5, $260
6th: Chad Thomas, Harrodsburg, Ky., two bass, 6-5, $260
8th: Nathan Eubank, Mount Vernon, Ind., two bass, 6-2, $223
9th: Bill Wasden, Paris, Tenn., two bass, 6-1, $198
10th: John Morales, Tinley Park, ill., two bass, 5-14, $174
Boehringer caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $170.
The tournament was hosted by the Kentucky Lake 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. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, presented by Mercury. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2019 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 be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
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, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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