Shad Spawn Key for Ruff on Kerr

Barry Burford takes co-angler title

Boater Travis Ruff of Connelly Springs, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds even Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division event on Kerr Lake. Ruff took home $5,466 for his victory.

“I had an awesome day,” said Ruff, who earned his first career win in BFL competition. “I fished the shad spawn in Nutbush Creek all day long, throwing a Lucky Craft Sammy around the bushes. I caught probably a dozen fish total, with 8 or 9 keepers.”

Ruff said that he was targeting points in Nutbush Creek and fished around 10 to 12 different areas.

“The key was the shad spawn,” Ruff said. “I discovered it in practice and knew that it was going to be the deal.”

Ruff said that his Lucky Craft Sammy that he threw was Ghost Minnow-colored. He did catch a couple of fish flipping a Zoom Brush Hog, but all of his keepers that he weighed in came on the topwater Sammy.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

              1^st:          Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., five bass, 18-0, $3,466 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

              2^nd:         Israel Gibson, Spruce Pine, N.C., five bass, 16-15, $2,033

              3^rd:         Michael Chlomoudis, Murfreesboro, N.C., five bass, 14-13, $1,155

              4^th:         James Blankenship, Siler City, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $751

              4^th:         Jake Frye, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $751

              5^th:         Cole Blythe, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 14-2, $835

              7^th:         Buddy Black, Lawndale, N.C., five bass, 13-13, $678

              8^th:         Mike Winchester, Bryson City, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $520

              9^th:         Ryan Deal, Indian Trail, N.C., five bass, 13-7, $462

              10^th:       Wesley Cashwell, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 13-1, $404

Complete results can be found here.

Boater big bass award

Marty Warren of Elon, North Carolina, caught a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass, which was the heaviest of the tournament in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $435.

Barry Burford of Charlotte, North Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $1,928.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

              1^st:          Barry Burford, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 14-2, $1,928

              2^nd:         J.R. Milligan, Merry Hill, N.C., five bass, 10-5, $856

              3^rd:         Steven Spivey, Whiteville, N.C., five bass, 10-4, $571

              4^th:         Justin Bach, Kannapolis, N.C., four bass, 9-14, $600

              5^th:         Brian Mann, Ballard, W.Va., five bass, 9-12, $343

              6^th:         Lee McConnell, Lewisville, N.C., four bass, 9-8, $364

              7^th:         Nathan Grose, Summersville, W.Va., four bass, 9-2, $285

              8^th:         Joel Cerv, North Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 8-11, $257

              9^th:         Tommy Young, Linden, N.C., three bass, 8-10, $228

              10^th:       Brian Souza, Cornelius, N.C., three bass, 8-9, $200

Complete results can be found here.

Co-angler big bass awards

Burford weighed a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass which also earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award and $215.

The T-H Marine BFL at Kerr Lake was hosted by the Vance County Department of Tourism.

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 James River in Williamsburg, Virginia. 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.