Wagner Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Music City Division on Lake Guntersville, Alabama
OutdoorHub 02.25.13
Adam Wagner of Cookeville, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 29 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Music City Division event on Lake Guntersville. For his victory, Wagner earned $3,386.
“The weather was cloudy and cold,” said Wagner. “My morning started off well and I caught two keepers pretty fast on my first spot. One fish was a 3-pounder and the other was a 5-pounder. The area that I chose to fish was a small pocket just off the main river channel. There were two points going into that pocket where those fish were staging, and that’s where I focused my efforts.
“After catching those two on a jig, I picked up an Alabama rig and finished off my limit,” Wagner continued. “I had 17 pounds after I got done with that spot, but I fished the rest of the day without much success. I caught a few fish here and there on a Rat-L-Trap, but I was not upgrading my weight.
“With only a little time left in the day I pulled up to a rip rap bank and picked up my flipping stick with another jig tied on,” Wagner went on to say. “After about 10 flips I had a 7-13 and the 7-9 in the boat. These fish were surprisingly shallow in about a foot of water and right on the bank. When I set the hook, I could immediately see the fish fighting. It was the best day I have ever had on Guntersville.”
Wagner was using an assortment of baits from the Zorro Bait Company. He used a 3/8-ounce Booza Bug Jig to catch his early-morning fish and stepped it up to a ½-ounce Booza Brush Bug Jig later in the afternoon. Both had skirts colored in a “Missouri Craw” pattern, which consists of a combination of dark green and brown strands, with a few chartreuse ones thrown in for brightness.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Johnny Patterson, Grant, Ala., five bass, 26-15, $1,693
3rd: Andrew Crabtree, Cane Ridge, Tenn., five bass, 26-12, $1,129
4th: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., five bass, 24-8, $790 + Evinrude Bonus: $300
5th: Tim Hurst, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 23-11, $677
6th: D. Murphy, Madison, Ala., five bass, 22-4, $621
7th: Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 21-7, $564
8th: Scott Brummett, Brentwood, Tenn., five bass, 21-3, $479
8th: Robert Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 21-3, $479
10th: Curtis Merriman II, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 20-13, $395
Jimmy Sparks of Tuscumbia, Ala., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 27 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $1,693 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Brandon Maynard, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 23-14, $846
3rd: Lynn Spears, Athens, Tenn., five bass, 20-1, $564
4th: Elliot Wenskunas, Smyrna, Tenn., two bass, 12-10, $395
5th: Bobby Whitson, Brentwood, Tenn., four bass, 11-1, $339
6th: Damien Willis, Jacksonville, Ala., three bass, 10-12, $310
7th: Lee Graves, Southside, Ala., three bass, 10-2, $282
8th: Robert Bobbitt, Mount Juliet, Tenn., three bass, 9-15, $254
9th: Tony Hines, New Market, Ala., three bass, 9-11, $226
10th: Jeff Johnston, Nashville, Tenn., two bass, 8-15, $198
The next BFL Music City Division tournament is scheduled for March 9 on Percy Priest in Smyrna, Tenn. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. The 2013 BFL All-American is being held June 27–29 on the Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tenn. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
