Casey O’Donnell of Langston, Alabama, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 15 ounces. O’Donnell pocketed $5,082 for his efforts.
O’Donnell says he spent the majority of the tournament working through one area on the south end of the river.
“I fished the ends of channel swing banks, anywhere from 2½ to 5 feet of water, and caught them from laydowns and stumps,” says O’Donnell, a former FLW Tour co-angler who notched his first career win as a boater in BFL competition. “I run an aluminum Ranger boat, so it’s not as fast as some of the others out there but it’s more efficient up shallow.”
O’Donnell notes that nine of his 10 fish came flipping a ½-ounce Gambler Jigzilla with a green-pumpkin-colored Strike King Twin Tail Menace Grub trailer. He said he caught his heaviest bass Saturday using an albino-colored Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog.
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Casey O'Donnell, Langston, Ala., 10 bass, 23-15, $5,082
2nd: Ryan Davidson, Branchland, W. Va., nine bass, 23-12, $2,541
3rd: Daniel Johnson, Lebanon, Tenn., eight bass, 21-7, $1,625
4th: Taylor Stumbo, Prestonsburg, Ky., seven bass, 18-15, $1,139
5th: Jerry Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., nine bass, 18-13, $976
6th: Charles Morrison, Georgetown, Ky., eight bass, 17-0, $895
7th: Joe Haunert, West Chester, Ohio, eight bass, 16-6, $814
8th: Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., seven bass, 15-5, $732
9th: Jason Bean, Scottsville, Ky., six bass, 15-3, $651
10th: Barry Smith, Catlettsburg, Ky., seven bass, 13-15, $570
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
J.J. Dean of Huntington, West Virginia, caught a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $600.
Hill wins co-angler title
Chad Hill of Marion, Illinois, caught a two-day total of nine bass weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,441.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Chad Hill, Marion, Ill., nine bass, 19-15, $2,441
2nd: Alex Straubing, Cincinnati, Ohio, eight bass, 15-5, $1,320
3rd: Ralph Feldman, Lancaster, Ky., six bass, 12-3, $814
4th: Colton Smith, Somerset, Ky., six bass, 11-3, $620
5th: Bob Wiles, Huntington, W. Va., five bass, 10-14, $488
6th: Danell McKinney, West Liberty, Ky., five bass, 9-9, $447
7th: Jared Rudd, Salyersville, Ky., five bass, 9-9, $407
8th: Lucas Devere, Berea, Ky., four bass, 8-11, $366
9th: Raymond Manis, Jamestown, Tenn., four bass, 8-10, $325
10th: Chris O'Bryan, Harned, Ky., four bass, 8-9, $285
Cole McCourt of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 3 pounds, 7 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $300.
The T-H Marine FLW BFL Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River was hosted by the Glasgow-Barren County Tourist & Convention Commission.
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. 5-7 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. 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.