Deakins Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division on Lake Guntersville
OutdoorHub 02.14.12
Marshall Deakins of Dunlap, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 32 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division event on Lake Guntersville. For his victory, Deakins earned $5,796.
“That’s about the second coldest day I have ever fished,” said Deakins. “It was a very rough day. The wind was around 30 miles per hour, and the temperature was below freezing. My rod was frozen all day long. Despite the weather, the fishing was pretty good for me.
“I caught them all day, but I never did catch a really big one,” Deakins continued. “I had been catching some big ones in practice, but the wind really kept me from going to those places. I was throwing the Alabama rig rigged with swimbaits, along with 80 percent of the guys down here. Everyone I saw was throwing it. We were fishing around 5 to 6 feet of water, and I caught around 25 fish for the entire day.”
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
The next BFL Choo Choo Division tournament is scheduled for March 3 on Lake Guntersville in Scottsboro, Ala. After the fifth Choo Choo Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 4 – 6 Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, 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 2012 BFL All-American is being held May 17 – 19 on the Potomac River in National Harbor, Md. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
