Clarksville’s DeGrandcourt Wins T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League Opener on Kerr Lake
Raleigh’s Richardt Claims Co-Angler Title
HENDERSON, N.C. – Boater R.J. DeGrandcourt of Clarksville, Virginia, caught five bass Saturday weighing 18 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division opener on Kerr Lake. For his catch, DeGrandcourt took home $2,585.
According to post-tournament reports, DeGrandcourt caught his bass fishing flats on the upper end of the lake with a Bomber Speed Shad crankbait.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: R.J. DeGrandcourt, Clarksville, Va., five bass, 18-7, $2,585
2nd: Ben Dalton, Keeling, Va., five bass, 16-5, $1,175
3rd: Travis Lugar, McGaheysville, Va., five bass, 15-9, $784
4th: Jack Dice, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 15-0, $759
4th: Thomas Svec, Chesapeake, Va., five bass, 15-0, $509
6th: Curtis Talbott, Forest, Va., five bass, 14-15, $631
7th: Michael Delvisco, Dandridge, Tenn., five bass, 14-1, $392
8th: Derik Hudson, Concord, Va., five bass, 13-11, $752
9th: Rick Hawkins, Roanoke, Va., five bass, 13-10, $313
10th: Craig Wright, Rustburg, Va., four bass, 13-1, $150
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
DeGrandcourt also caught a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $235.
Kyle Richardt of Raleigh, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $1,175 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kyle Richardt, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 12-7, $1,175
2nd: Trey Grow, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 11-6, $587
3rd: Louis Britos, Disputanta, Va., five bass, 10-10, $393
4th: Jamie Newton, Falls Church, Va., four bass, 10-9, $254
4th: Timothy Kinder, Manassas, Va., five bass, 10-9, $354
6th: Brandt Thompson , Richmond, Va., five bass, 10-7, $215
7th: Gregory Chuhta, Germantown, Md., five bass, 10-5, $196
8th: Danny Crickenberger, Charlottesville, Va., four bass, 10-0, $293
9th: Billy Brown, Dahlgren, Va., five bass, 9-13, $157
10th: Al Berkley, Madison Heights, Va., five bass, 9-12, $50
Crickenberger caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $117.
The tournament was hosted by the Vance County Tourism Development Authority.
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. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina, presented by Navionics. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2019 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. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show 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, and YouTube.
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