Jig Bite Carries Holmes on Wateree

Drusch takes co-angler title

CAMDEN, S.C. – Bryan Holmes of Blythewood, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Wateree. For his victory, Holmes earned $3,296.

“My co-angler and I had an awesome day,” Holmes said. “We found our groove and just kept pushing forward.”

Holmes said he targeted both prespawn and spawning fish using a black and yellow-colored Booyah Poppin’ Pad Crasher Frog and a buzzbait along mid-lake grass flats.

“We didn’t have much success on the buzzbait, but the frog seemed to do well,” Holmes said. “After missing a bunch of fish early I switched to a Shooter Lures peanut butter and jelly-colored jig and dragged it along the edges of the grass and that seemed to work better.”

Holmes said he expected to find more fish on the spawning beds, he quickly adapted to the strong jig bite in the shallow grass.

“We had a cold rain come through a few days prior to the tournament so I think that pushed fish off the beds and back out into deeper water,” said Holmes. “I only caught one fish off of a bed.

“Wateree Creek produced the most fish for us,” Holmes continued. “I boated nine bass all day and culled four times.”

Holmes went on to say that finding unused water sealed the win for him at this particular tournament. 

“A lot of anglers favor the same type of baits on Lake Wateree, so it’s all about location,” Holmes said.

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Bryan Holmes, Blythewood, S.C., five bass, 20-12, $3,296

2^nd:         Carlton Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., five bass, 19-1, $1,648

3^rd:          Joey Sabbagha, Chapin, S.C., five bass, 18-14, $1,099

4^th:          Anthony Marks, Spartanburg, S.C., five bass, 18-11, $769

5^th:          Sandy Oliver, Hartsville, S.C., five bass, 18-10, $659

6^th:          John Duvall, Madison, Ga., five bass, 18-5, $576

6^th:          Sean Skey, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 18-5, $576

8^th:          Scott Peavy, Blythewood, S.C., five bass, 18-3, $494

9^th:          Daryl Watson, Matthews, N.C., five bass, 18-0, $439

10^th:        Lance Owen, Greer, S.C., five bass, 17-6, $385              

Complete results can be found here.  

Jerry Freezon of Elgin, South Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $405.

Drusch wins co-angler award

Lonnie Drusch of Sumter, South Carolina, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win $1,648 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Lonnie Drusch, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 17-13, $1,648

2^nd:         John Wilson, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 14-3, $824

3^rd:          Jason Hueble, Whitmire, S.C., five bass, 14-0, $549

4^th:          Adam Beckum, Martinez, Ga., five bass, 13-13, $385

5^th:          Aaron Morris, Fountain Inn, S.C., four bass, 13-9, $330

6^th:          Brian Howard, Andrews, S.C., five bass, 13-4, $302

7^th:          Chris Teague, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 13-3, $275

8^th:          Al Edwards, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 12-11, $247

9^th:          Chad Craven, Irmo, S.C., three bass, 12-9, $220

10^th:        Mike Field, Columbia, S.C., four bass, 11-2, $192

Kevin Babcock of Greenville, South Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $202.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. 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.