Co-angler Lewis Wins at Eufaula
Florida angler squeaks into winner’s circle by ounces
Co-angler Blake Lewis followed the lead of pro Josh Stracner at Lake Eufaula today, coming from behind to earn the Toyota Series Southeastern Division tournament win. Lewis, of Pace, Fla., caught a three-day total weight of 44 pounds, 4 ounces to win by just 11 ounces. He came into the final day in fourth place.
“It feels wonderful,” says Lewis, a general contractor and real estate professional. “I’m glad to be here enjoying time with friends and fellowship together with everybody. So, I had a good event.”
The only bait Lewis fished this week was a stand-up jighead with a Berkley Fatty Bottom Hopper Worm. It worked on day one, when he fished in the creek right outside takeoff, and it worked the last two days while fishing on the lower end.
“I just stuck with it and didn’t need to get too complicated or overthink anything,” he says. “Most of the boaters were throwing crankbaits and swimbaits, so I just tried to do something different.
“I was fortunate. I didn’t lose any fish, jump any off, break any off, anything like that. Everything just worked well. They definitely bit different today with the cloud cover or full moon, whatever the case was. It was much more difficult today.”
Lewis says this is easily the biggest win of his career. It was also his first Toyota Series event since 2013. Along with the trophy, he earned a brand-new Phoenix bass boat with a Mercury outboard.
Top 10 co-anglers
1. Blake Lewis – Pace, Fla. – 44-4 (15) – $33,500
2. Cal Culpepper – Hamilton, Ga. – 43-9 (15) – $3,544
3. Bryce Goff – Haines City, Fla. – 40-14 (15) – $2,836
4. Chuck Laslie – Havana, Fla. – 39-7 (15) – $2,481
5. Joseph Chilcott – Crestview, Fla. – 39-1 (13) – $2,127
6. Daniel Corkern – Florence, Miss. – 38-14 (15) – $1,772
7. Todd Beaver – Richland, Ga. – 38-0 (15) – $1,418
8. Tony Muina – Wewahitchka, Fla. – 37-8 (13) – $1,241
9. Alan Ray – Georgetown, Ga. – 37-1 (12) – $1,117
10. Ronald Harris – Jefferson, Ga. – 33-5 (14) – $886