Gettys Uses Lipless for Win on Kentucky
Richmond’s Fornash tops Co-angler field
Edward Gettys of Paris, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the first T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) LBL Division event of 2017 on Kentucky and Barkley lakes presented by Navionics. For his efforts, Gettys pocketed $7,851.
Gettys said he spent the tournament fishing ditches and bars on the main lake. He said he had four areas that were especially productive.
“My first stop was a ditch that was 6-feet-deep, just north of Paris,” said Gettys, who notched his ninth career-win in FLW competition. “The bass I focused on were hovering in the 3-foot range, and I caught four – including a 5-pounder. After that, I moved to another shallow ditch and caught some more keepers.”
Gettys said his most productive bait throughout his day was a Rayburn Red-colored Booyah One Knocker lipless crankbait.
“Later on I hit a couple of shallow bars in 3 to 5 feet of water and caught two in the 5-pound range,” said Gettys. “They both came on the One Knocker. I would reel in my retrieve at a medium-slow speed.”
Gettys said he finished out the tournament by working through his most productive bars.
“I didn’t have a kicker in my limit – they were all similar in size – but I caught a lot of fish,” said Gettys. “I probably caught 25 or 30 keepers after all was said and done.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., five bass, 25-14, $5,851 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Matt Robertson, Central City, Ky., five bass, 25-12, $3,665
3rd: Kevin Tidwell, Bon Aqua, Tenn., five bass, 24-3, $1,846
4th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, five bass, 22-5, $1,295
5th: David Young, Mayfield, Ky., five bass, 21-9, $1,310
6th: Richie Head, Clarksville, Tenn., five bass, 21-4, $1,018
7th: Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., five bass, 21-1, $1,025
8th: Eric Snow, Clarksville, Ind., five bass, 20-9, $833
9th: Chuck Callahan, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 19-10, $740
10th: Josh Malone, Alma, Ill., five bass, 18-2, $648
Complete results can be found here.
Big Bass
Robertson caught a bass weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $890.
Chris Fornash of Richmond, Kentucky, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $2,737.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Chris Fornash, Richmond, Ky., five bass, 15-5, $2,737
2nd: Donald Shaffer, Odin, Ill., five bass, 14-8, $1,369
3rd: Kristin Knuteson, Mount Washington, Ky., four bass, 13-13, $913
4th: Jonathan Blattel, Cape Girardeau, Mo., five bass, 13-1, $839
5th: Marion Yahn, Bell City, Mo., five bass, 12-11, $547
6th: Craig Middleton, Harrodsburg, Ky., three bass, 11-11, $937
7th: Kane Hackemack, Georgetown, Ind., four bass, 10-7, $456
8th: Jeff Maxwell, Flora, Ind., three bass, 10-0, $411
9th: Gary Gustafson, Gilbertsville, Ky., two bass, 9-14, $365
10th: Kerry Malone, Mount Pulaski, Ill., three bass, 9-8, $369
Complete results can be found at here.
Middleton caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $435.
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. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the Barren River in Scottsville, Kentucky. 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.