McCoy Keyed on Beds for Title

Tapp wins co-angler award on Santee Cooper

Ronnie McCoy of Lamar, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division tournament on Santee Cooper presented by Navionics. For his win, McCoy took home $5,756.

McCoy spent his day in the Wyboo area of Potato Creek fishing various clumps of cypress trees.

“We had a cold front blow through Friday night so the morning bite was slow, especially near trees where there wasn’t any wind,” says McCoy, who earned the second win of his career in FLW competition. “I decided to move to a group of trees that the wind was hitting on the Potato Creek side and caught three fish. The wind definitely affected how the bass were setting up in the water.”

McCoy threw a Buckeye Lures Su-Spin Blade with a white Zoom Split Tail Trailer to catch his initial keepers. 

“At 1:30 p.m. I went into a smaller creek off Potato looking for spawning fish,” says McCoy. “Within 30 minutes I caught three 6-pounders off of three different beds using a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Roadkill Craw. That was the deal-maker. The craw, with its unique shape, is great for sight-fishing.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., five bass, 25-5, $3,756 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Bradford Beavers, Ridgeville, S.C., five bass, 24-8, $1,878

3^rd:          Ken Ellis, Bowman, S.C., five bass, 23-10, $1,253

4^th:          Mark Hutson, Moncks Corner, S.C., five bass, 23-4, $1,366

5^th:          Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 23-3, $751

6^th:          Jason Morse, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 22-1, $689

7^th:          Chris Gramling, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 21-9, $626

8^th:          Marty Quesada Jr., Appling, Ga., five bass, 21-7, $863

9^th:          Dustin Henson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 20-13, $501

10^th:        Brent Riley, Cross, S.C., five bass, 20-9, $438

Complete results can be found here. 

Hutson caught a 9-pound, 10-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $490.

Tapp wins co-angler division

Rodney Tapp of North Augusta, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,973.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Rodney Tapp, North Augusta, S.C., five bass, 15-13, $1,973

2^nd:         Jeffrey Borne, Leesville, S.C., four bass, 14-0, $876

3^rd:          Mark Wingate, Gaston, S.C., five bass, 12-7, $585

4^th:          Jack Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., four bass, 12-1, $409

5^th:          Beau Wilder, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 11-10, $351

6^th:          Randy Brown, Lugoff, S.C., four bass, 10-7, $306

6^th:          Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., three bass, 10-7, $306

8^th:          Joseph Thomasson, Columbia, S.C., four bass, 9-4, $263

9^th:          Chris Newton, Martinez, Ga., two bass, 7-11, $234

10^th:        Virgil Wicks, Gaffney, S.C., two bass, 7-1, $204

Tapp also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 8 pounds even, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $220.

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, 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.