Meet the 2017 BFL All-American Field
98 anglers set to compete for national title on Pickwick Lake
It’s one of the oldest and most prestigious championship tournaments in bass fishing. It’s also one of the toughest to qualify for.
Yet, 98 anglers have managed to fish their way to the 2017 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League All-American on Pickwick Lake. The tournament, which is set for June 1-3, offers a top prize of up to $120,000 and a Forrest Wood Cup berth for the boater winner, and up to $60,000 for the co-angler winner.
To get to the 2017 All-American required a long, successful tournament run. It started with BFL qualifying events in 2016, where the top anglers earned spots at six BFL Regionals that were held in the fall. The top six boaters and co-anglers at each Regional qualified for the All-American. A BFL Wild Card event was held after the Regionals for anglers who failed to qualify for a Regional but met other criteria. The top six boaters and co-anglers at the Wild Card also qualified for the All-American. Finally, seven boaters and seven co-anglers from The Bass Federation, who fought their own season-long qualifying battle, earned berths into the All-American by finishing atop their respective TBF divisions at the 2017 TBF National Championship.
What follows is a complete list of boater and co-angler qualifiers, arranged by qualifying route, along with the BFL or TBF division from which they began their All-American run.
Boaters
Lake Chickamauga Regional – Region 1
Ryan Davidson, Branchland, W.Va. – Mountain Division
Dustin Huggins, Russellville, Ark. – Arkie Division
Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn. – Mountain Division
William Merrick, Mount Juliet, Tenn. – Mountain Division
Scott Bateman, Jasper, Ind. – Hoosier Division
Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn. – LBL Division
Kerr Lake Regional – Region 2
David Wright, Lexington, N.C. – Savannah River Division
Brandon Gray, Bullock, N.C. – Shenandoah Division
Richard Phillips, Asheville, N.C. – Savannah River Division
Cavin Young, Prince George, Va. – Shenandoah Division
Derrick Snavely, Johnson City, Tenn. – Volunteer Division
Chris Daves, Spring Grove, Va. – Shenandoah Division
Kentucky Lake Regional – Region 3
Chris Aswegan, Tiffin, Iowa – Great Lakes Division
Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis. – Great Lakes Division
Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn. – Illini Division
Clayton Reitz, Morton, Ill. – Great Lakes Division
Ronald Nutter, Saint Louisville, Ohio – Buckeye Division
Brad Leifermann, Andover, Minn. – Great Lakes Division
Lake Seminole Regional – Region 4
Marshall Deakins, Dunlap, Tenn. – Choo Choo Division
Steve Phillips, Douglas, Ga. – Bulldog Division
Mikey Keyso Jr., North Port, Fla. – Gator Divisoin
Robert Crosnoe, Inverness, Fla. – Gator Division
Chris Kirksey, Fairmount, Ga. – Choo Choo Divisoin
Tyler Morgan, Columbus, Ga. – Bulldog Division
Lake Hartwell Regional – Region 5
Jason Nixon, Wetumpka, Ala. – Bama Division
Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C. – North Carolina Division
Conrad Bolt, Seneca, S.C. – North Carolina Division
Barry Hooper, Monticello, Ga. – Bama Division
Brad Fowler, Townville, S.C. – North Carolina Division
Todd Harris, Clemmons, N.C. – Piedmont Division
Lake Dardanelle Regional – Region 6
Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla. – Okie Division
Melvin Dunn, Orange, Texas – Cowboy Division
Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala. – Mississippi Division
Jeffrey Smith, Concordia, Mo. – Ozark Division
Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo. – Ozark Division
Lane McGaha, Dubach, La. – Cowboy Division
Lake of the Ozarks – BFL Wild Card
Jeff Knight, Cleveland, Tenn. – Choo Choo Division
Dylan Duncan, Kansas, Okla. – Okie Division
Bennie Mutter, Glasgow, Ky. – Mountain Division
Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo. – Okie Division
Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn. – LBL Division
Adam Ohms, Edwardsville, Ill. – LBL Division
Table Rock Lake – TBF National Championship
Joshua Moore, Clinton, Mo. – Central Division
Brad Brodnicki, Amherst, N.Y. – Eastern Division
Robert Harkness, Elizabeth, W.Va. – Mid-Atlantic Division
Allen Boyd, Salem, Ind. – Northern Division
Ben Warren, Cambridge, Ida. – Northwestern Division
Jeff Hager, Alexis, N.C. – Southern Division
Ty Faber, Pagosa Springs, Colo. – Southwestern Division
Co-anglers
Lake Chickamauga Regional – Region 1
Jimmy Terry, Mabelvale, Ark. – Arkie Division
Jacob Harris, Bonne Terre, Mo. – LBL Division
Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio – Hoosier Division
Dennis Taylor, Murray, Ky. – LBL Division
Billy Watson, Murfreesboro, Tenn. – LBL Division
Jeremy New, Yorktown, Ind. – Hoosier Division
Kerr Lake Regional – Region 2
Peter Balishin, Sharps Chapel, Tenn. – Volunteer Division
David Winters, Rock Hill, S.C. – Savannah River Division
David Primavera, Winder, Ga. – Savannah River Division
Donnie Davis, Greer, S.C. – Savannah River Division
Greg Ravitsky, Ashburn, Va. – Shenandoah Division
Timothy Wacker, Knoxville, Tenn. – Volunteer Division
Kentucky Lake Regional – Region 3
Jim Budde, Waterloo, Ill. – Illini Division
Jim Stone, Greenwood, Ind. – Michigan Division
Randy Westerfield, Constantine, Mich. – Michigan Division
Tim Gilliland, Wellston, Ohio – Buckeye Division
Carl Lingle, Dongola, Ill. – Illini Division
Mike Raber, Wolcottville, Ind. – Michigan Division
Lake Seminole Regional – Region 4
Jessey Rudolph, Deltona, Fla. – Gator Division
John Trudel, Lighthouse Pt., Fla. – Gator Division
David Bozeman, Ocala, Fla. – Gator Division
Randy Paquette, Sarasota, Fla. – Gator Division
Tony Dimauro, Watkinsville, Ga. – Bulldog Division
Stanley (Trey) Shaw, Dunnellon, Fla. – Gator Division
Lake Hartwell Regional – Region 5
Alex Hester, Crossville, Tenn. – Music City Division
Clarence Raney, Murfreesboro, Tenn. – Music City Division
Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va. – Piedmont Division
Richard Young, Ellenboro, N.C. – North Carolina Division
Jeff Scism, Shelby, N.C. – North Carolina Division
Marvin Godard, Charlotte, N.C. – North Carolina Division
Lake Dardanelle Regional – Region 6
Michael Montgomery, Cuba, Mo. – Ozark Division
Ronald Smith Jr., Kansas City, Kan. – Ozark Division
Damon Duncan, Kansas, Okla. – Okie Division
David Lansford, Muskogee, Okla. – Okie Division
Dennis Meyer, Ballwin, Mo. – Ozark Division
Justin Newell, Muskogee, Okla. – Okie Division
Lake of the Ozarks – BFL Wild Card
Craig Rose, Olathe, Kan. – Ozark Division
Richard Hooter, Natchitoches, La. – Cowboy Division
Mike Youngblood, St. Louis, Mo. – Illini Division
Dale Renth, Mascoutah, Ill. – Illini Division
Stefan Marginean, Glenview, Ill. – Great Lakes Division
Rob Melendez, Frankfort, Ill. – Great Lakes Division
Table Rock Lake – TBF National Championship
Brad Jernigan, Amory, Miss. – Central Division
Steven Martins, Killingworth, Ct. – Eastern Division
Brian LaClair, Denton, Md. – Mid-Atlantic Division
Sport Smith, Corcoran, Minn. – Northern Division
Kevin Higgins, Bonney Lake, Wash. – Northwestern Division
Kevin Black, Cumming, Ga. – Southern Division
Paul Aznarez, Las Vegas, Nev. – Southwestern Division