“I fished up the Elk River and targeted buck bushes, isolated cypress trees and small bushes,” says Wagner, who tallied his 12th career victory in BFL competition – tied for second most all-time. “I had one area and I stayed there all day. It was right there around Winchester, in a couple of bays.

“I’d say I caught about 20 keepers, specifically in 6 inches to a foot of water,” continues Wagner. “As the day went on, my fish kept getting bigger, and I kept culling. I made long casts with 20-pound-test Power Pro [Spectra Fiber Green Moss] braided line. Sometimes I had to wrestle them out of there, but the braided line did well.”

Wagner says his biggest fish of the day – a 4-pound, 14-ouncer – came around 1 p.m. He used a weightless Texas-rigged, bubblegum-colored Zoom Trick Worm, as well as a 7-foot All Pro APX Elite Series heavy-action spinning rod and Daiwa spinning reel.

The top 10 boaters:

1st: Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 18-10, $4,013

2nd: Rocco Simeri, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 17-11, $1,674

3rd: Hunter Bouldin, McMinnville, Tenn., five bass, 14-10, $848

4th: Daniel Johnson, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 14-4, $594

5th: Blake Balent, Gallatin, Tenn., five bass, 13-9, $510

6th: Tony Eckler, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 13-8, $467

7th: Brent Sain, Manchester, Tenn., five bass, 13-5, $425

8th: Brandon Edel, Hendersonville, Tenn., five bass, 13-2, $382

9th: Michael Thomason, Winchester, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $340

10th: Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 12-11, $547

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Wagner’s 4-pound, 14-ounce bass ended up being the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division, earning the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $265.

Co-angler Joe Richardson

Richardson wins co-angler title

Joe Richardson of Toccoa, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,274 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 10 pounds, 11 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1st: Joe Richardson, Toccoa, Ga., five bass, 10-11, $1,274

2nd: Brian Reed, Cookeville, Tenn., four bass, 9-14, $637

3rd: Arthur Stephens, Shelbyville, Tenn., four bass, 9-11, $424

4th: Kenny Botts, Alvaton, Ky., four bass, 9-3, $297

5th: Mitchell Adams, Goodlettsville, Tenn., three bass, 7-6, $255

6th: Matt Langley, Lebanon, Tenn., three bass, 7-3, $434

7th: Kelly Stone, Westmoreland, Tenn., two bass, 5-13, $212

8th: Kibbee McCoy, Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 5-10, $241

9th: Cole Cherry, Alvaton, Ky., three bass, 5-9, $170

10th: Kevin Barton, Franklin, Ky., two bass, 5-1, $149

Scott Marshall of Lebanon, Tennessee, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $132.

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. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina, presented by Navionics. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.