Bouldin Earns Second Strike King Co-Angler Win in Central Division
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Jeremy Bouldin basically lapped the Strike King co-angler field to win the in the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E event on Lake Chickamauga – the last of three tournaments in the Central Division’s season. Bouldin ended the three-day tournament with 44 pounds, 6 ounces, besting second-place Anthony Mondo who brought 32-12 to the scale. Amazingly, Bouldin’s win is his second of the season, as he also won the previous Central Division event at Dale Hollow.
Bouldin started slow on Chickamauga catching 9-10 on Day 1, climbing to 15-15 on Day 2 and culminating on the third and final day with a huge co-angler bag of 18-13. The win earned Bouldin a Phoenix boat, plus a check for $2,500.
“It felt like I could do no wrong,” said Bouldin.
Bouldin and his pro partner, Kevin Meunier (who finished second on the pro side), began the day fishing an area at the mouth of Richland Creek near Dayton. The MLF camera boat, along with several local anglers, watched the pair boat several fish. That bite however was short-lived and they moved to the back end of Richland Creek in search of shallow, spawning bass.
“I didn’t know you could get back that far,” said Bouldin, holding his fingers just a few inches apart. “We was in water that wasn’t that deep. I figured nobody else would be back that far unless they were in a kayak. I knew if we did find one, it was going to be a big one.”
For the shallow bite, Bouldin was fishing a Sumkina Bait Company worm.
“It’s a local family business in Georgia that makes really good baits,” said Bouldin. “It’s a good in-between plastic. It’s really soft and has good action but at the same time you can’t hardly tear it up. It’s also infused with garlic.”
Bouldin said he believes the scent does help, especially on a heavily-pressured lake like Chickamauga.
“These fish see a bait every day of the week and they need something to make them hold on a little tighter,” he said.
This year was Bouldin’s first time fishing a full Toyota Series division and after winning on Dale Hollow Lake earlier this year, he has two of the three possible wins in the Central Division. He plans to use his winnings to help move to the front of the boat.
“I fished these so I could learn these lakes, to see how they layout and how they fish,” he said. “That’s what it all boils down to. I did all this to learn and I have definitely learned,”
Top 10 Co-anglers
1. Jeremy Bouldin – 44 – 06 (14) – $36,000
2. Anthony Mondo – 32 – 12 (13) – $7,700
3. Pop Catalin – 32 – 01 (12) – $6,000
4. James S. Burns – 30 – 07 (12) – $4,500
5. Richard Arnold – 28 – 12 (12) – $4,000
6. Randy Wiggins – 27 – 06 (11) – $3,650
7. Mitch Friedman – 26 – 07 (10) – $3,000
8. Tommy Pritchard – 24 – 12 (8) – $2,250
9. Charlie Crouch – 23 – 08 (9) – $1,700
10. Andy Vance – 23 – 07 (11) – $1,700