Wind-Blown Points Pay for Queen

Milligan nets co-angler title on Kerr Lake

Jeff Queen of Catawba, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the second FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division tournament of 2016 on Kerr Lake presented by Power-Pole. For his victory, Queen took home $4,507.

“On the morning of the event we had wind gusting up to 40 mph, so I had to change my game plan,” says Queen, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “With huge the swells on the main lake, I opted for running points in Nutbush Creek.”

Queen positioned his boat in 8 to 12 feet of water where larger females were active. He says that this tactic was crucial to his success.

“Everyone else was fishing up shallow on the banks with their boats over the top of the fish,” says Queen. “In those spots, there will never be a shortage of bass, but they will be smaller bucks. With the cold front that moved through, the scarce, heavier females were out deep. I only had about 8 bites, but they were the right ones.”

Queen says he dragged a green-pumpkin-colored TrueSouth Jig with a green-pumpkin Zoom Super Chunk trailer to hit nearly 30 wind-blown points.

“I felt good about the decisions I made,” says Queen. “I was able to produce a decent limit and get my first win.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Jeff Queen, Catawba, N.C., five bass, 20-9, $4,507

2^nd:         Joey Sabbagha, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 18-13, $2,553

3^rd:          Tim Grein, Winston Salem, N.C., five bass, 17-8, $1,502

4^th:          Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 17-2, $976

4^th:          Scott Beattie, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 17-2, $976

6^th:          David Farrington, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 17-0, $826

7^th:          Russell Hoyle, Newton, N.C., five bass, 16-8, $713

7^th:          Steve Godfrey, Candler, N.C., five bass, 16-8, $713

9^th:          Adam Watts, Chadbourn, N.C., five bass, 16-6, $601

10^th:        Conrad Bolt, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 16-2, $499

10^th:        Steve Harwood, Weaverville, N.C., five bass, 16-2, $499

Complete results can be found here. 

Shawn Hammack of Gasburg, Virginia, caught a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $655.

Milligan wins co-angler title

Tommy Milligan of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,253.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Tommy Milligan, Surfside Beach, S.C., five bass, 14-10, $2,253

2^nd:         Paul Smith, Victoria, Va., five bass, 13-14, $1,127

3^rd:          Chip Crews, Trinity, N.C., five bass, 13-11, $751

4^th:          Scott Plattenberger, Concord, N.C., five bass, 13-7, $526

5^th:          Michael Thomas, York, S.C., five bass, 13-6, $451

6^th:          Adam Lockler, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 13-5, $413

7^th:          Jeremy Moody, Creedmoor, N.C., four bass, 12-13, $357

7^th:          Tony Toombs, Drakes Branch, Va., five bass, 12-13, $357

9^th:          Edward Louthen, Princeton, W. Va., four bass, 11-7, $300

10^th:        Khris Williams, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 11-6, $263

Mike Shatley of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 1 ounce and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $327.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 27-29 Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. 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.