Dobbins Flips His Way to Victory

Ford takes co-angler honors on Lake Eufaula

EUFAULA, Ala. – Patrick Dobbins of Opelika, Ala., weighed a two-day total of 10 bass totaling 28 pounds, 15 ounces to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Bama Division Super Tournament on Lake Eufaula Sunday. For his victory, Dobbins earned $6,882.

“I had to run a long way up the river, probably about 30 miles,” said Dobbins, who earned the second BFL win of his career. “I was fishing lay-downs with a black and blue jig. I was just picking them apart and hopping it down the lay-downs and the line would move off and I’d bust them.

“There was only one other boat up there with me,” Dobbins continued. “I found the stretch that had the fish on Friday in practice. I launched my boat up there and saw some bream popping, so I went over and they were there.

“It wasn’t a specific spot. I was just going up and down the bank. The first day of the tournament I caught several 3-pounders that didn’t help me. I probably hurt my fish and should have laid off them a little.

“Going in I didn’t think I would win because the lake usually fishes really good this time of year,” finished Dobbins. “But the ledge bite was off, and a lot of the guys who were fishing the ledges only brought in two or three fish.”

Dobbins said he caught all of his fish on a black and blue-colored hand tied jig with a matching Zoom Super Chunk.

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

2^nd:          Bobby Padgett, LaGrange, Ga., eight bass, 25-7, $2,441 + $300 Evinrude Bonus

3^rd:          Michael Smith, Laurel Hill, Fla., 10 bass, 24-7, $1,625

4^th:           Jeff Cannon, Douglasville, Ga., eight bass, 24-2, $1,139

5^th:           Mark Holloway, Madison, Ga., nine bass, 23-1, $976

6^th:           Clay Elliott, Dothan, Ala., seven bass, 22-9, $895

7^th:           Terry Tucker, Gadsden, Ala., nine bass, 21-13, $814

8^th:           Jay Grogan, Fort Mitchell, Ala., seven bass, 21-9, $732

9^th:           Winston Steen, Wellington, Ala., seven bass, 21-6, $651

10^th:        Henry Golden, Tallassee, Ala., nine bass, 20-11, $570

 Complete results can be found by clicking here.

Ford wins co-angler title

Jeff Ford of Trion, Ga., weighed in a two-day total of nine bass totaling 19 pounds, 13 ounces to win $2,441 in the co-angler division Sunday.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

2^nd:          Steven Simpson, Jasper, Ala., nine bass, 18-0, $1,220

3^rd:          Gary Marlowe, Montgomery, Ala., six bass, 15-2, $814

4^th:           Ralph Moseley, Crestview, Fla., five bass, 12-13, $570

5^th:           Shawn Diehl, Harvest, Ala., six bass, 11-12, $488

6^th:           Sergio Render, Newnan, Ga., six bass, 11-7, $447

7^th:           Chris Hawkins, Adger, Ala., seven bass, 10-6, $407

8^th:           Drew Hobgood, Sharpsburg, Ga., four bass, 9-15, $366

9^th:           Zack Thaggard, Dadeville, Ala., six bass, 9-15, $325

10^th:        Christopher Kanute, Warrior, Ala., six bass, 9-13, $285

Complete co-angler results can be found by clicking 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. 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, Instagram and YouTube.