Larry Franks Jr. continually worked his way up the leaderboard at Lake Guntersville, landing on top of the Strike King co-angler division by the end of the Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. Central Division event. Franks was in 11^th place after day one with 13 pounds, 6 ounces. He added 12-15 to that Thursday, climbing into second place. On the final day, Franks sacked 15-6 for a three-day total of 41-11. He overtook day-two leader Keith Newsom, winning with more than a 5-pound margin.

“I’m speechless,” says Franks. “It’s been a long time coming. I’m long overdue.

“I’ve been fishing my whole life,” he adds, voice cracking with emotion. “I’ve had seconds and thirds, but I’ve never been able to get the win.”

The was Franks’ first-ever Toyota Series event. He has fished 12 other MLF events. Today was his first win, but the first five hours of the final day did not go well for the young angler from Wilsonville, Alabama.

“I didn’t catch my first fish until 11:30,” he says. “It was a long day up until that point.”

Franks credited the turn-around to a lure change.

“I completely changed today to something I have not thrown all week,” he says. “I switched over to a Berkley Frittside 5. It’s a confidence bait that I have.”

Franks is a system administrator for an IT company. Today’s win earned him a new Phoenix boat package worth $33,500 and an additional $1,750 in cash.

Top 10 Strike King Co-Anglers

1. Larry Franks Jr. – 41 – 11 (14) – $35,250

2. Keith Newsom – 36 – 04 (12) – $6,625

3. Zach Britton – 28 – 05 (10) – $5,300

4. Wayne Crouch – 26 – 01 (9) – $4,150

5. Hayden Marbut – 25 – 15 (9) – $3,650

6. Shane Combs – 23 – 01 (8) – $3,150

7. Jared Murphree – 22 – 12 (9) – $2,650

8. Blake Lewis – 21 – 05 (7) – $2,075

9. Alex Moore – 20 – 14 (7) – $1,630

10. Terry Ezzell – 19 – 09 (7) – $1,390

Complete Results