Big Swimbait Key for Merrick

Foutz wins co-angler title

William Merrick of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Music City Division tournament on Percy Priest presented by Navionics. For his victory, Merrick took home $3,648.

“I spent my day on the south end of the lake throwing a large swimbait,” explains Merrick, who earned his second win in FLW competition. “I slow-rolled it out deep for both pre- and postspawn bass in about 20 different spots. I preferred spawning banks that had a specific mix of rock and gravel.”

Merrick says he used a 7-inch, trout-colored Osprey Swimbait and caught nearly 13 keepers on the day.

“It’s a lot larger than most swimbaits used in this part of the country,” details Merrick. “It was definitely something the fish weren’t accustomed to seeing.”

Merrick says his limit consisted of three postspawn smallmouth and two prespawn largemouth bass.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

               1^st:          William Merrick, Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 18-4, $3,648

               2^nd:         Chris Fondren, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-9, $1,324

               3^rd:          Jeff Lokken, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 15-14, $882

               4^th:          Brandon Edel, Hendersonville, Tenn., five bass, 13-10, $903

               5^th:          Billy Hinson, Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 13-6, $530

               6^th:          Jeremy Ethridge, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 12-14, $463

               7^th:          Charlie Crisp Jr., Catlettsburg, Ky., five bass, 12-14, $463

               8^th:          Josh Tramel, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 12-5, $397

               9^th:          Adam Militana, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 12-3, $353

               10^th:        Brandon Maynard , Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 12-2, $309

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Edel caught a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $285.

Foutz wins co-angler title

Jacob Foutz of Charleston, Tennessee, weighed in five bass totaling 11 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,324.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1^st:          Jacob Foutz, Charleston, Tenn., five bass, 11-10, $1,324

               2^nd:         Jim Fontaine, Smyrna, Tenn., five bass, 10-12, $804

               3^rd:          Jason McCanless, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 10-10, $440

               4^th:          Michael Birdwell, Granville, Tenn., five bass, 10-4, $309

               5^th:          Greg Whittaker, Monterey, Tenn. five bass, 10-2, $265

               6^th:          Brandon Russell, Murfreesboro, Tenn., four bass, 8-14, $243

               7^th:          Larry Anderson, Hillsboro, Ohio, three bass, 8-5, $221

               8^th:          Jake Short, Lebanon, Tenn., four bass, 8-3, $199

               9^th:          Alex Hester, Crossville, Tenn., four bass, 7-11, $177

               10^th:        Brennon Binkley, Franklin, Tenn., three bass, 7-10, $154

Fontaine caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 3 pounds, 14 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $142.

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.