Powers outfishes field on Lake Cherokee - Major League Fishing

Powers outfishes field on Lake Cherokee

Bullens best co-angler
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Boater Kevin Powers of Unicoi, Tenn., won the Sept. 19-20 BFL Mountain Division tournament on Lake Cherokee to earn $5,270 plus a $2,000 Ranger boat bonus. Angler: Kevin Powers.
September 20, 2009 • MLF • Archives

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. – Kevin Powers of Unicoi, Tenn., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League final Mountain Division tournament on Lake Cherokee Sunday with a two-day 10-bass catch weighing 30 pounds, 9 ounces. The victory earned Powers $5,270.

Anglers were competing to qualify for the Lake Norman Regional Championship in Lake Norman, N.C., Oct. 22-24, where they could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

“I didn’t get many bites this weekend, but I made the ones I did get count,” said Powers. “I only had five keeper bites on Saturday and six on Sunday. All my fish came in 1 foot or less of water using buzzbaits, a Spook and a jig.”

According to Powers, Saturday’s bright and sunny conditions helped keep the fish shallow, and the rain on Sunday sent the fish roaming making it a little tougher to catch the bass. He did indicate that he got his “big” fish off a deep dock.

Rounding out the top five boaters are John Devere of Berea, Ky. (9 bass, 24-15, $2,635); Jake Morris of Mc Kee, Ky. (8 bass, 22-14, $1,758); Brandon Card of Caryville, Tenn. (10 bass, 22-13, $1,230); and Jeff Carman of Liberty, Ky. (10 bass, 21-15, $1,054).

Powers also took home the Boater Division Folgers Big Bass award, earning $675 for a 6-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a Spook.

Lester Bullens of Berea, Ky., earned $2,441 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to 7- bass Lester Bullens of Berea, Ky., earned $2,441 as the co-angler winner of the Sept. 19-20 BFL Mountain Division event.weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught on a Senko or DD22 crankbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Parker Ealey of Sparta, Tenn. (7 bass, 9-7, $1,220); Brandon Moberly of Berea, Ky. (5 bass, 9-6, $814); Josh Goan of Bulls Gap, Tenn. (6 bass, 9-6, $570); and Jeremy Benningfield of Elizabethtown, Ky. (4 bass, 8-15, $488).

Scottie Cook of Hustonville, Ky. and Steve Prewitt of Perryville, Ky. each earned $150 as they tied for the co-angler Folgers Big Bass winner after catching a 3-pound, 6-ounce bass each.

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.