Swimbait Takes Salzman to Top

Spires tops co-anglers on Guntersville

Ryan Salzman of Huntsville, Alabama, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 24 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the fourth FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Choo Choo Division tournament of 2016 on Lake Guntersville. For his victory, Salzman took home $5,244.

Salzman says he concentrated on ledges between Seibold Creek and the Highway 431 Bridge.

“My areas had a lot of baitfish,” says Salzman, who earned his second career win in FLW competition. “Earlier this week, I noticed that skipjack were coming up and feeding on the shad, so I threw a swimbait and caught some sizeable fish. I decided to follow a similar pattern for this event.”

Salzman caught the majority of his fish on a True Bass True Blue-colored Little Head 4.5 Swimbait.

“I was sitting in 30 feet of water and throwing up to 12 feet,” says Salzman. “I started out strong with 17 or 18 pounds and just worked through them the rest of the day. With the help of my Lowrance electronics, I ended up catching nearly 60 keepers.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 24-5, $5,244

2^nd:         Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 23-12, $2,122

3^rd:          Matt Bradley, Bessemer, Ala., five bass, 23-2, $1,413

4^th:          Cody Harrison, Florence, Ala., five bass, 21-5, $990

5^th:          Clayton Joyce, Chapel Hill, Tenn., five bass, 21-3, $849

6^th:          Casey Martin, New Hope, Ala., five bass, 20-2, $1,078

7^th:          Douglas Webster, Pinson, Ala., five bass, 20-0, $707

8^th:          Curtis Merriman, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 19-12, $1,237

9^th:          Scott Towry, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 19-3, $566

10^th:        Jonathan Henry, Grant, Ala., five bass, 18-12, $495

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 

Merriman caught a bass weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $600.

Spires wins co-angler title

Alex Spires of Chickamauga, Georgia, weighed in five bass totaling 22 pounds even Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,122.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Alex Spires, Chickamauga, Ga., five bass, 22-0, $2,122

2^nd:         Roland Wade, Rocky Face, Ga., five bass, 21-14, $1,361

3^rd:          Chase Dorsett, Odenville, Ala., five bass, 19-8, $707

4^th:          Randall Wiggins, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 17-0, $495

5^th:          Wayne Garner, Sherwood, Tenn., five bass, 16-13, $424

6^th:          Derek Holly, Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 14-12, $389

7^th:          Daniel Davis, Albertville, Ala., four bass, 14-10, $354

8^th:          Jason Mullinax, White, Ga., five bass, 14-2, $300

8^th:          Scott Miller, Burlington, Wis., five bass, 14-2, $300

10^th:        Robert Barnett, Flintstone, Ga., five bass, 14-1, $248

Wade caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $300.

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.