Wheeler Works Deep for Win

Parton takes co-angler title in Savannah River event

Ken Wheeler of Martin, Georgia, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the first T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament of 2017 on Lake Keowee presented by Navionics. For his win, Wheeler took home the top award of $5,889.

“I started in Cane Creek and got my first bite on a brown Outkast football-head jig with a watermelon-red Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer,” says Wheeler, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “I ran through three areas before moving to a mid-lake hole where I caught another on a Zoom Z Drop Worm rigged on a drop-shot in about 50 feet of water.”

Wheeler switched to a Fish Head Spin to catch his third fish out of some rocks that were 25 feet down.

“My first three bites were the only ones I had in those areas, so I had to keep moving,” says Wheeler. “I kept fishing nearby rocks with the Z Drop and caught four or five more to finish my limit. I culled a couple of times and ended up bringing in what I had.”

Wheeler says his total catch for the day included 15 keepers.

“I didn’t catch a lot of fish, but they were the right bites,” says Wheeler. “I mixed up my lures and kept trying something different and it worked out.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Ken Wheeler, Martin, Ga., five bass, 15-6, $5,889

2^nd:         Hunter Eubanks, Inman, S.C., five bass, 14-15, $3,764

3^rd:          Jeremy Strong, Elberton, Ga., five bass, 13-5, $2,198

4^th:          Anthony Marks, Spartanburg, S.C., five bass, 12-9, $1,232

4^th:          Vince Smith, Westminster, S.C., five bass, 12-9, $1,332

6^th:          Heath Pack, Mineral Bluff, Ga., five bass, 12-7, $995

6^th:          Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 12-7, $995

8^th:          Todd Goade, Suwanee, Ga., five bass, 11-14, $805

8^th:          Conrad Bolt, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 11-14, $805

10^th:        Chris Nelson, Social Circle, Ga., five bass, 11-11, $664

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Eubanks caught a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $920.

Parton wins co-angler title

Dwayne Parton of Anderson, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $3,044.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Dwayne Parton, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 12-14, $3,044

2^nd:         Jimmi Leuthner, Tamassee, S.C., five bass, 11-3, $1,422

3^rd:          Bob Brown, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 10-15, $1,408

4^th:          Shane Swann, Mars Hill, N.C., five bass, 10-14, $616

4^th:          Jody Rogers Sr., Clarkesville, Ga., five bass, 10-14, $616

6^th:          Douglas Bryson, Westminster, S.C., five bass, 10-13, $521

7^th:          Edward Cooper, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-3, $474

8^th:          Matthew Guffey, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 9-15, $403

8^th:          Brad Surett, Travelers Rest, S.C., five bass, 9-15, $403

10^th:        Ron Bryson, Mount Airy, Ga., five bass, 9-14, $332

Brown caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, weighing 4 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $460.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.