Brindle Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville
OutdoorHub 04.29.13
Billy Brindle of Calhoun, Ga., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 29 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division event on Lake Guntersville. For his victory, Brindle earned $6,000.
Billy Brindle of Calhoun, Ga., won the April 27 Choo Choo Division event on Lake Guntersville with 29 pounds, 15 ounces. For his efforts, Brindle earned a check for $6,000.
“I’ve finished third, fourth and fifth in FLW tournaments,” said Brindle, who earned his first career victory. “It feels so good to finally get the win. I really didn’t think that I had enough. I figured there would be at least two 30-pound stringers. To win by an ounce is just great.”
Brindle won by fishing underwater humps in the mid-lake area. All of his fish came on a Hog Farmer umbrella rig rigged with 4½-inch Zoom swimbaits.
“The bass were suspending over the deeper hydrilla,” Brindle continued. “I was fishing in 8 to 12 feet of water, but the fish were suspending 4 or 5 feet deep. These fish were post-spawn and definitely a little beat up.”
Brindle said that he caught eight keeper bass throughout the day, with the bite being strongest in the first two hours of the day.
“I caught the biggest fish of the tournament – a 9-pound, 10-ounce largemouth,” Brindle went on to say. “The key for me was finding those fish that were suspended. I only live 90 miles from Guntersville, so I have a lot of experience on the lake. The lake has been on fire lately, and the fishing is still really unbelievable.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Jonathan Henry, Grant, Ala., five bass, 29-14, $2,000
3rd: Jason Tucker, Dutton, Ala., five bass, 27-15, $1,334
4th: Justin Osborne, Big Cove, Ala., five bass, 25-5, $933
5th: Andrew Clayton, Westpoint, Tenn., five bass, 23-11, $800
6th: Bryan Gregory, Fort Payne, Ala., five bass, 23-8, $733
7th: Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 22-7, $667
8th: James Smith, Hampton Cove, Ala., five bass, 22-5, $600
9th: Brent Crow, Hartselle, Ala., five bass, 22-1, $500
9th: Ray Elmore, Calhoun, Ga., five bass, 22-1, $500
Jody Moore of Dalton, Ga., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 27 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win $2,000 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Damien Willis, Jacksonville, Ala., five bass, 26-1, $1,000
3rd: Adam Colquitt, Boaz, Ala., five bass, 24-9, $666
4th: Justin Sward, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 22-6, $467
5th: Alan Barrett, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 19-14, $400
6th: Cliff Broadrick, Tullahoma, Tenn., five bass, 19-9, $367
7th: Jeffery Hill, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 18-14, $333
8th: Waymon Maples, Scottsboro, Ala., five bass, 18-5, $300
9th: James Staten, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 18-1, $267
10th: Jamie Mills, Calhoun, Ga., five bass, 17-7, $233
The next BFL Choo Choo Division tournament is scheduled for June 8 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Ala. 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.
