Shallow Does it for McMullen

Boater Willie McMullen of Oxford, Georgia, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division tournament on Lake Wylie with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 3 ounces. For his win, McMullen pocketed $5,082.

“I caught everything fairly shallow from isolated wood and docks,” said McMullen, who earned his first career-win in FLW competition. “I spent the tournament in the South Fork Catawba River arm and was able to catch seven keepers on Saturday and nine on Sunday.”

McMullen estimated that 12 of his bass bit a white Z-Man ChatterBait while the other four preferred a black Picasso Din R Bel Buzzbait and a June Bug-colored Zoom Dead Ringer Worm.

“I had a little milk run and hit the same stuff each day,” said McMullen. “Everything came from less than 3 feet of water. The water level actually dropped throughout the weekend, which both helped and hurt me. It isolated targets to where I could pick apart areas without fan casting, but it also dried out some spots by Sunday.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

               1^st:          Willie McMullen, Oxford, Ga., 10 bass, 26-3, $5,082

               2^nd:         Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., 10 bass, 23-8, $2,541

               3^rd:          Timmy Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., nine bass, 22-8, $1,925

               4^th:          Mel Long, Hampton, S.C., 10 bass, 21-11, $1,139

               5^th:          Chuck Howard, Elloree, S.C., 10 bass, 20-15, $976

               6^th:          Ron Brown, Santee, S.C., 10 bass, 20-13, $895

               7^th:          Nathan Webber, Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 20-6, $814

               8^th:          Shane Lineberger , Lincolnton, N.C., nine bass, 20-3, $732

               9^th:          Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., nine bass, 19-9, $651

               10^th:        Cole Huskins, Mount Holly, N.C., 10 bass, 18-15, $570

Complete results can be found here.  

Big Bass

John Haas of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, caught a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $600.

Mark Wingate of Gaston, South Carolina, caught a two-day total of seven bass weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,634.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1^st:          Mark Wingate, Gaston, S.C., seven bass, 16-4, $2,634

               2^nd:         Jared Upchurch, Lugoff, S.C., seven bass, 14-6, $1,217

               3^rd:          Tommy Floyd, Coward, S.C., seven bass, 14-1, $813

               4^th:          Marcus Leech, Gastonia, N.C., seven bass, 13-7, $568

               5^th:          Thomas Robbins, Jackson, S.C., eight bass, 13-2, $537

               6^th:          Brandon Jeffcoat, Columbia, S.C., seven bass, 11-14, $446

               7^th:          Terry Carteret, Charlotte, N.C., four bass, 10-13, $406

               8^th:          Charles Wood, Thomasville, N.C., four bass, 10-12, $657

               9^th:          Tristen Trull, Mount Holly, N.C., six bass, 10-8, $325

               10^th:        Terry Coleman, Sumter, S.C., four bass, 9-5, $284

Complete results can be found here.

Big Bass

Wood caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $292.

The T-H Marine FLW BFL South Carolina Division tournament on Lake Wylie was hosted by the Rock Hill/York County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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 Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. 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.