Wissinger Earns First BFL Win

Josh Wissinger of Hayden, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 12 ounces, to the scale Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division event on Lake Mitchell. For his win, Wissinger took home $3,586.

“I started out fishing isolated grass patches on the main lake with a Dirty Jigs No-Jack Swim Jig with a Zoom Super Ultra Vibe Speed Craw,” says Wissinger, who earned his first career-win in FLW competition. “I picked up one or two keepers, but there were a lot of boats around. Lake Mitchell is small, so I knew there would be a lot of pressure.”

As the morning continued, Wissinger said he worked his way up the Coosa River looking for spawning bass.

“I hit seawalls and caught two spotted bass, including a 4-pounder, using a Z-Man ChatterBait,” says Wissinger. “The 5- to 6-foot depths are ideal spawning areas. It’s the first shallow water they come to when they get out of the main-river current.

“I eventually got up to the dam, and fished some flats near concrete walls,” explains Wissinger. “There is a lot of food for the fish up there, as well as holes and big boulders they get around and use to spawn. They offer the bass some protection.”

Wissinger said he used a ¼-ounce Buckeye Lures Spot Remover Shaky-Head Jig with a Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm to round out his limit.

The top 10 boaters:

1^st: Josh Wissinger, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 18-12, $3,586

2^nd: Erick Sommers, Deatsville, Ala., five bass, 17-1, $1,411

2^nd: Tim Hurst, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 17-1, $1,836

4^th: Brandon McGinnis, Pell City, Ala., five bass, 16-1, $790

5^th: James Baber, Ozark, Ala., five bass, 15-8, $777

6^th: Jimmy Bahakel, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 14-12, $621

7^th: David Milsaps, Ranger, Ga., five bass, 14-10, $564

8^th: Daniel White, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 14-7, $508

9^th: Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 14-2, $451

10^th: M.J. Vihnanek, Walnut Hill, Fla., five bass, 14-1, $395

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Hurst caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest of the event in the Pro Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $425.

Taylor Parker of Lake View, Alabama, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $1,693.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st: Taylor Parker, Lake View, Ala., five bass, 12-13, $1,693

2^nd: Timmy Ward, Sylacauga, Ala., five bass, 12-10, $846

3^rd: Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 12-8, $764

4^th: Jeff Morgan, Kennesaw, Ga., five bass, 12-4, $445

5^th: Lew Moore, Roanoke, Ala., five bass, 11-5, $339

6^th: Larry Purdie, Columbus, Ga., five bass, 11-0, $310

7^th: Ross Duncan, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 10-15, $282

8^th: Tyler Fields, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 10-3, $254

9^th: Daniel Douglas, Meridianville, Ala., five bass, 10-1, $226

10^th: Tanner Ellison, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 10-0, $198

Mason Powell of Odenville, Alabama, caught the biggest bass among Co-angler Division anglers, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $212.

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 Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama. 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.