Atkins Stays Hot

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Justin Atkins Angler: Justin Atkins.
October 2, 2017 • MLF • Archives

Reigning Forrest Wood Cup Champion Justin Atkins of Florence, Alabama, added to his stellar 2017 campaign Sunday, winning the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mississippi Division tournament on Ross Barnett Reservoir with a two-day cumulative total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 6 ounces. Atkins was awarded $7,646 for his victory.

Atkins said he spent the tournament on the lower end of the lake targeting offshore fish. He said he caught the majority of his fish throughout the weekend using a 10-inch black Berkley Power Worm.

“I had one big school that was 10- to 14-feet deep,” said Atkins, who had seven prior top-10 finishes in BFL competition. “That’s where’d I’d start each morning to get a limit.”

Atkins said he moved to shallower brush piles around 10:30 a.m. each day.

“My Humminbird electronics helped me locate the brush piles and which of them were holding fish,” said Atkins. “I could also see the subtle changes on the bottom. I’ve never owned a unit that you could see fish that shallow.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

               1st:          Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., 10 bass, 24-6, $5,646 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

               2nd:         Teddy Cranford, Seminary, Miss., 10 bass, 24-5, $2,823

               3rd:          Dan Love, Pearl, Miss., seven bass, 20-0, $1,816

               4th:          Shannon Denson, Brandon, Miss., 10 bass, 19-10, $1,271

               5th:          Marty Torrence, Crystal Springs, Miss., nine bass, 19-6, $1,089

               6th:          Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., seven bass, 18-10, $998

               7th:          Darrell Hunter, Lena, Miss., seven bass, 18-8, $908

               8th:          Bobby McDill, Raleigh, Miss., seven bass, 18-3, $817

               9th:          Chris Wooten, West Point, Miss., seven bass, 17-4, $1,074

               10th:        Timmy Smith, Petal, Miss., eight bass, 17-4, $635

Complete results can be found here.

Big Bass

Larry Savell of Brandon, Mississippi, caught a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $348.

 

Co-angler Hunter Utley

Hunter Utley of Cordova, Tennessee, caught a two-day total of eight bass weighing 19 pounds even to win the Co-angler Division and $3,272.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1st:          Hunter Utley, Cordova, Tenn., eight bass, 19-0, $3,272

               2nd:         Mike Allen, Crystal Springs, Miss., eight bass   , 16-15, $1,411

               3rd:          Jason Mitchell, Hamilton, Miss., six bass, 13-5, $908

               4th:          Ray Higginbotham, Brooksville, Miss., six bass, 10-12, $635

               5th:          Kevin Culpepper, Seminary, Miss., four bass, 10-8, $545

               6th:          Charles Conn, Pearl, Miss., six bass, 10-0, $499

               7th:          Mike Hall, Purvis, Miss., four bass, 9-13, $454

               8th:          Bobby Murphy, Florence, Miss., five bass, 9-13, $408

               9th:          Jimmy Tisdale, Ellisville, Miss., five bass, 9-4, $363

               10th:        Lance Jackson, Starkville, Miss., three bass, 9-2, $318

Complete results can be found here.

Big Bass

Utley also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 1 ounce – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $349.

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 the Red River in Bossier City, Louisiana. 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.