Beck best boater on Old Hickory Lake - Major League Fishing

Beck best boater on Old Hickory Lake

Steward tops co-anglers
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Boater Mickey Beck of Lebanon, Tenn., won the Sept. 19-20 BFL Music City Division tournament on Old Hickory Lake to earn $4,400. Angler: Mickey Beck.
September 20, 2009 • MLF • Archives

GALLATIN, Tenn. – Mickey Beck of Lebanon, Tenn., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League final Music City Division tournament on Old Hickory Lake Sunday with a two-day 10-bass catch weighing 24 pounds, 12 ounces. The victory earned Beck $4,400.

Anglers were competing to qualify for the Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship in Appling, Ga., Oct. 15-17, where they could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

“I am exhausted; this is the first time I landed on top,” said Beck. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities in the past, but this time it worked out all right. I am pleased as punch to have won.”

The rapid rise and fall of the lake helped create some of the best fishing conditions Beck recalls ever seeing on Old Hickory Lake. Thursday’s rain brought the lake level up 2 feet, but by Sunday enough water had been released to bring the lake back down to where it was before the tournament. This helped the fish school according to Beck allowing him to catch his limit using buzzbaits.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Terry Steele of Sparta, Tenn. (9 bass, 20-08, $2,200); David Gnewikow of Mount Juliet, Tenn. (10 bass, 19-3, $1,466); Jeff Lokken of Lebanon, Tenn. (10 bass, 19, $1,027); and James Wade of Bloomington Springs, Tenn. (8 bass, 17-10, $880).

Robert Gutter of Chicago took home the Boater Division Folgers Big Bass award, earning $502 for a 4-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught.

Jerrod Steward of Paris, Ky., earned $2,200 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to nine bass Jerrod Steward of Paris, Ky., earned $2,200 as the co-angler winner of the Sept. 19-20 BFL Music City Division event.weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces that he caught on a Lucky Craft lure.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dave Shadwick of White House, Tenn. (8 bass, 12-10, $1,100); Jimmy Yates of Murfreesboro, Tenn. (7 bass, 12-10, $734); Tim Porter of Cookeville, Tenn. (7 bass, 10-15, $513); and Chuck Paison of Murfreesboro, Tenn. (7 bass, 10-12, $440).

Grant Davis of Franklin, Tenn., earned $251 as the co-angler Folgers Big Bass winner after catching a 3-pound, 1-ounce bass.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.

The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. This event is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing. In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart FLW Tour.

In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament circuit.

Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.

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For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.