Cookeville’s Phy Wins T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League Music City Division Opener on Center Hill Lake
Smithville’s Bouldin claims Co-angler title
SPARTA, Tenn. – Tim Phy of Cookeville, Tennessee, brought a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 3 ounces, to the scale Saturday to win the first T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Music City Division event of 2017 on Center Hill Lake. For his win, Phy pocketed $6,053.
According to tournament reports, Phy caught his fish near mid-lake gravel points in 8 to 10 feet of water using a green-pumpkin-colored D&L Tackle Jig.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Tim Phy, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 20-3, $4,053 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Terry Steele, Sparta, Tenn., five bass, 17-6, $1,877
3rd: Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 17-0, $1,185
4th: Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 16-6, $829
5th: Jay Melton, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 16-4, $711
6th: Hunter Bouldin, McMinnville, Tenn., five bass, 15-10, $651
7th: Kevin Crutcher, Collierville, Tenn., five bass, 15-5, $592
8th: Noel Smith, Portland, Tenn., five bass, 15-0, $533
9th: William Merrick, Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 14-2, $474
10th: Conoly Brown, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 14-1, $415
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Rik Richter of Cookeville, Tennessee, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $455.
Matthew Bouldin of Smithville, Tennessee, weighed in five bass totaling 17 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $1,777.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Matthew Bouldin, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 17-8, $1,777
2nd: Ricky Underhill, Parts Unknown, five bass, 14-1, $888
3rd: Justin Lloyd, Murfreesboro, Tenn., three bass, 10-10, $692
4th: Rodney Brown, Gainesboro, Tenn., four bass, 10-3, $415
5th: Mitchell Adams, Goodletsville, Tenn., two bass, 9-10, $582
6th: Steven Brown, Tompkinsville, Ky., four bass, 9-6, $326
7th: Gregory Goodwin, Louisville, Ky., two bass, 8-8, $296
8th: Matt Simcox, Paris, Tenn., four bass, 7-6, $267
9th: Jake May, Smyrna, Tenn., three bass, 6-15, $237
10th: Brennon Binkley, Franklin, Tenn., four bass, 6-10, $197
10th: Sam Loveless, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 6-10, $197
Adams caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $227.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
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