Leary Frogs and Flips on G-Ville
Corbett wins co-angler title in Choo Choo Division Super Tournament
Jim Leary of Guntersville, Alabama, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale weighing 37 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the two-day T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Choo Choo Division super-tournament on Lake Guntersville presented by Cortland Line Sunday. Leary earned $5,869 for his efforts.
Leary spent most of his time on day one fishing grass mats in the mid-section of the lake, between South Sauty Creek and Goose Pond.
“I knew I couldn’t win the tournament on day one, but I could lose it,” says Leary who earned his first career victory. “The first day was tough, but I was able to frog and flip up 16 pounds, 9 ounces to keep myself in the game.”
“On day two I started out flipping deeper, submerged grass. That is where I caught my biggest fish of the tournament – a 7- or 8-pounder,” Leary continues. “Right after catching the big one, I caught another 5-pounder in the same grass patch.”
Leary says the grass mats he targeted were not as dependent on current as some of the other popular areas further up the lake.
“The TVA was only pulling 12,000 (cubic feet per second) on day two so I went to my spots where I knew the fish didn’t need the current to turn on,” he says.
Leary’s frog of choice over the weekend was a Castaic Boyd Duckett BD Frog. When the Guntersville guide needed to get deep in the grass, he opted for a NetBait Paca Craw with a 1¼-ounce tungsten weight.
“The Paca Craw was a little bit tougher to punch the mat with, but once I got it through, I could yo-yo the bait seven or eight times and the fish would eat,” Leary says.
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Jim Leary, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 37-12, $5,869
2nd: Charles Hemm, Huntsville, Ala., 10 bass, 33-5, $2,634
3rd: Casey Martin, Brownsboro, Ala., 10 bass, 33-1, $1,623
4th: Marshall Deakins, Dunlap, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-9, $1,236
5th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., 10 bass, 31-2, $974
6th: Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 27-12, $893
7th: Randall Allen, Owens Cross Roads, Ala., 10 bass, 27-7, $811
8th: Justin Wallace, Scottsboro, Ala., eight bass, 27-2, $730
9th: Daniel Whitaker, Phil Campbell, Ala., 10 bass, 26-11, $649
10th: Kenny Everette, Villa Rica, Ga., 10 bass, 23-13, $568
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Fletcher Shryrock of Dennison, Ohio, caught a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the event’s Boater Big Bass award of $585.
Corbett wins co-angler title
Anniston, Alabama's Marcus Corbett won the Co-angler Division and $2,684 Sunday after catching a two-day total of nine bass weighing 22 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Marcus Corbett, Anniston, Ala., nine bass, 22-10, $2,684
2nd: Ethan Wheeler, Mayfield, Ky., nine bass, 21-11, $1,367
3rd: Cameron Gatlin, Chattanooga, Tenn., nine bass, 21-6, $1,105
4th: Richard Lucia, Buford, Ga., nine bass, 21-5, $568
5th: Mark Lyons, Marion, Ind., 10 bass, 21-0, $487
6th: Chase Owens, Athens, Ala., eight bass, 20-12, $446
7th: Matt Hardy, Guntown, Miss., nine bass, 18-15, $406
8th: Steven Jacques, Addison, Ala., seven bass, 16-15, $365
9th: Bruce Stanley, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 15-11, $325
10th: Jacob Gardner, Arab, Ala., eight bass, 14-8, $284
Cameron Gatlin caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch earned him the event’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $292.
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 Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. 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.