Bowling Wins BFL Choo Choo event on Guntersville

Corbett wins co-angler title

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Bill Bowling of Somerset, Kentucky, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 34 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Guntersville. For his victory, Bowling earned $5,475.

 “It feels great to win this tournament,” said Bowling. “I’ve never caught a limit that large before.”

Bowling chose to concentrate on ledges at the south end of the lake to help him secure his personal-best weight. He stuck to one bank near Browns Creek for the majority of his day, catching his five-bass limit before 11:30 a.m.

“The fish were in a staging area where they sit in deep water and then move up to a flat,” said Bowling. “I’d make long casts into 2-4 feet of water and reel back to about 10-12 feet.”

Bowling went on to say that all six of his fish were caught using a bleach-colored Storm Big Bass crankbait.

“We only culled one time and had all of our fish caught before dinner,” said Bowling.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:           

1^st:          Bill Bowling, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 34-6, $5,475

2^nd:         Wayne Boyd, Rome, Ga., five bass, 32-5, $2,737

3^rd:          Damien Willis, Jacksonville, Ala., five bass, 31-1, $1,827

4^th:          Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 27-2, $1,277

5^th:          Landon Lomax, Owens Cross Roads, Ala., five bass, 26-14, $1,095

6^th:          Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 22-9, $1,004

7^th:          Brad Harmon, Ringgold, Ga., five bass, 20-2, $912

8^th:          Danny Shell, Albertville, Ala., four bass, 18-9, $821

9^th:          Gil Summerlin, Guntersville, Ala., four bass, 18-1, $730

10^th:        Billy Joe Wheat, Evensville, Tenn., five bass, 17-13, $639   

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Bowling also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $870. 

Marcus Corbett of Heflin, Alabama and Davis Whitten of Tuscumbia, Alabama, both weighed in five-bass limits totaling 30 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to tie for first place in the co-angler division. For their victory, each angler was awarded $2,053.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Marcus Corbett, Heflin, Ala., five bass, 30-1, $2,053

1^st:          Davis Whitten, Tuscumbia, Ala., five bass, 30-1, $2,053

3^rd:          Craig Allen, Kingston Springs, Tenn., five bass, 23-5, $913

4^th:          Robert Richardson, Calhoun, Ga., three bass, 16-7, $639

5^th:          Johnny Pittman, Albertville, Ala., three bass, 15-2, $547

6^th:          John Lovin, Fayetteville, Ohio, three bass, 14-9, $502

7^th:          Hunter Goad, Florence, Ala., four bass, 14-7, $456

8^th:          Allen Bishop, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 12-11, $411

9^th:          Wesley Brown, Gadsden, Ala., three bass, 12-8, $365

10^th:        Matthew Hale, Gardendale, Ala., three bass, 12-6, $319

Corbett caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $435.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Alabama. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, 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 50 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.