Brackin tops tough bite on Big O
Rudolph claims co-angler honors
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – Darrell Brackin of Okeechobee, Fla., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Gator Division tournament of 2014 on Lake Okeechobee. For his victory, Brackin earned $6,300.
Brackin parlayed an 8-pounder and a 9-8 that was the tournament Big Bass into his second BFL win on Okeechobee.
“The lake fished really tough,” said Brackin. “A cold front came in and the water temperature was way down in the morning. I was lucky to get one bite in the morning, which was my big fish. As the day warmed up, they started biting a little better and the water temperature even got up over 64 degrees. We caught them really well the last two and a half hours of the tournament.
“While it was cold I fished a Wave Worm Tiki Bamboo Stick in bulrushes,” continued Brackin. “When it warmed up I culled out two bass fishing a spinnerbait around hydrilla and Kissimmee grass.
“I’ve fished the lake for 30 years; I’ve had a lot of cold-front experience on it,” finished Brackin. “It feels pretty doggone good to win.”
Brackin said he used a black-and-blue-colored Wave Worm Tiki Bamboo Stick with a 1/2-ounce tungsten weight as well as the spinnerbait. He said he fished both baits on Halo rods with 65-pound-test braided line and an Abu Garcia Revo STX.
Rounding out the top 10 pros:
2nd: Michael Meisenheimer, Lehigh Acres, Fla., five bass, 22-13, $3,000
3rd: Joe Holland, Jefferson, Maine, five bass, 21-5, $2,000
4th: Chris Brill, Lehigh Acres, Fla., five bass, 20-10, $1,300
4th: Fred Herron, Plantation, Fla., five bass, 20-10, $1,300
6th: Kyle Walters, Grant Valkaria, Fla., five bass, 19-13, $1,100
7th: Mike Jones, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 19-12, $1,000
8th: Preston Clark, Eagle Lake, Fla., five bass, 18-11, $900
9th: Greg Hughes, Inverness, Fla., four bass, 17-2, $800
10th: Corey Roberts, Fort Myers, Fla., five bass, 16-11, $700
Complete results can be found here.
Rudolph wins co-angler division
Jessey Rudolph of Deltona, Fla., weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win $3,000 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
2nd: Joe Edwards Jr., Orlando, Fla., two bass, 12-1, $1,250
2rd: Ed Sankowski, Indian Lake Estates, Fla., five bass, 12-1, $1,250
4th: Bernard Green, West Palm Beach, Fla., five bass, 10-14, $700
5th: Wes Wildman, Myakka City, Fla., five bass, 10-6, $600
6th: Garrett Farmer, Estero, Fla., five bass, 10-5, $550
7th: David Gallant, Inverness, Fla., five bass, 10-2, $475
7th: Jay Trudel, Boca Raton, Fla., five bass, 10-2, $475
9th: Nik Kayler, Apopka, Fla., five bass, 9-13, $400
10th: Connor MacDougall, Cape Coral, Fla., five bass, 9-12, $350
Complete co-angler results can be found here.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the St. John’s River in Palatka, Fla. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. The 2014 BFL All-American is being held June 5-7 on Wilson Lake in Florence, Ala. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.