Smallmouths Take King to Top

Co-angler Rushing nets title on Lake Cumberland

J.B. King of Byrdstown, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds even Saturday to win the third FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament of 2016 on Lake Cumberland. For his victory, King took home $5,972.

“I went down to the lower end of the lake to target smallmouth along rock bluffs,” says King, who earned the first win of his FLW career. “There was dirt and fine-gravel structure that attracting smallmouth. I fished stretches ranging from 100- to 600-feet long.”

“At my first area I caught my biggest bass of the day – a 4-11 – off of a gravel bank,” King continues. “I caught another keeper on a point before hooking two more from a bluff pocket. I spent 15 to 20 minutes in each spot and then moved on. I had five fish by 10:30 a.m.”

King used one bait to build his winning limit – a shaky-head rigged with a black and green-colored Zoom Finesse Mag Worm.

“You had to be patient and fish slow,” says King. “The fish were about 15 feet down and were either on a bed or guarding fry. Luckily I made something of my nine bites.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          J.B. King, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 17-0, $5,972

2^nd:         Terry Ledford, Gray, Ky., five bass, 16-5, $2,236

3^rd:          Talmadge Marcum, McKee, Ky., five bass, 14-1, $1,492

4^th:          Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 13-9, $968

4^th:          Mark Neal, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 13-9, $968

6^th:          Josh Tramel, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 13-6, $820

7^th:          Mark Morgan, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 13-4, $745

8^th:          Michael Allen, Gainesboro, Tenn., five bass, 13-1, $671

9^th:          Bart Hardy, Hazard, Ky., five bass, 12-14, $596

10^th:        Dwight Fox, Gainesboro, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $522

Complete results can be found here.  

Nick Neves of Brooklyn, Michigan, 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 $650.

Rushing wins co-angler title

Chris Rushing of Gamaliel, Kentucky, weighed in four bass totaling 11 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,236.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Chris Rushing, Gamaliel, Ky., four bass, 11-10, $2,236

2^nd:         Tyler Sheffield, Dry Ridge, Ky., five bass, 10-12, $1,118

3^rd:          Justin Sensabaugh, Byrdstown, Tenn., three bass, 7-13, $745

4^th:          Jason Stigall, Tateville, Ky., two bass, 7-12, $847

5^th:          Ryan Joshi, Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 7-7, $447

6^th:          Todd Stopher, London, Ky., three bass, 7-6, $410

7^th:          Shawn Overton, Coal Valley, Ill., three bass, 7-0, $373

8^th:          Tony Baber, Dayton, Ohio, three bass, 6-15, $335

9^th:          Kevin Simpson, Monticello, Ky., two bass, 6-10, $279

9^th:          Brenton Clemons, Somerset, Ky., three bass, 6-10, $279

Stigall caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $325.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. 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.