Henard nets title on South Holston

Curtis crowned co-angler champion
Image for Henard nets title on South Holston
J.R. Henard of Rogersville, Tenn., won the May 10 Volunteer Division event on South Holston Reservoir with a 17-pound, 7-ounce limit. For his efforts, Henard earned a check for over $5,700. Angler: J R Henard.
May 10, 2014 • MLF • Archives

BRISTOL, Tenn. – J.R. Henard of Rogersville, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division tournament of 2014 on South Holston Reservoir. For his victory, Henard earned $5,766.

“I started out fishing fast with crankbaits, spinnerbaits and swimbaits,” said Henard, who earned the second BFL win of his career. “Then I picked up a worm and caught two keepers. I went back and forth between the crankbait and a worm. Then the fishing got pretty slow so I just stuck with the worm.

“I mostly fished the pockets in the creeks. I think my biggest one was spawning, but I caught some more that hadn’t pulled up to spawn yet.

“I caught one largemouth, but I culled it out with a bigger smallmouth,” explained Henard. “I weighed in all smallmouth. It rained a little, but it wasn’t terribly bad. It was overcast pretty much all day. I felt like it would be a good day to fish for smallmouth.

“I’m pretty happy,” finished Henard. “I wasn’t really expecting to win this one. The guys that fish up here are so good, just making a top 10 is pretty good for me.”

Henard said that most of his fish came on a Texas-rigged 4-inch Berkley Powerbait Finesse Worm.

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

2nd: Willie Browning, Saltville, Va., five bass, 16-7, $1,883

3rd: Rod Grayson, Bristol, Va., five bass, 16-3, $1,256

4th: Keith Sykes, Clintwood, Va., five bass, 15-15, $879

5th: Doug Austin, Bristol, Va., five bass, 15-9, $753

6th: Jeffrey Mahaffey, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 15-7, $659

6th: Tony Morton, Maryville, Tenn., five bass, 15-7, $659

8th: Charles Ellis, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $533

8th: Jimbo Harris, Maryville, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $533

10th: Jeff Knight, Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 15-0, $439

Complete results can be found here.

Curtis wins co-angler title

Co-angler Joshua Curtis of Limestone, Tenn., won the May 10 Volunteer Division event on South Holston Reservoir with an 18-pound, 10-ounce limit. For his efforts, Curtis cashed a check for over $1,800.Joshua Curtis of Limestone, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win $1,883 in the co-angler division.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

2nd: Lester Botts, Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 15-2, $942

3rd: Shaun Ramsey, Maynardville, Tenn., five bass, 13-1, $627

4th: John Swallows, Charleston, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $439

5th: Kelsey Harvey, Jonesborough, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $377

6th: Shawn Bishop, Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $345

7th: Robert Chambers, Elizabethton, Tenn., five bass, 11-15, $314

8th: Dennis Lewis, Powell, Tenn., four bass, 11-1, $282

9th: William Neal, Blountville, Tenn., four bass, 10-15, $251

10th: Matt Dillard, Bristol, Va., three bass, 10-7, $220

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. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. 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. 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. For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.