Mcclellon Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Savannah River Division on Clarks Hill Lake
OutdoorHub 03.05.12
Appling, GA– Daryl McClellon of Cornelia, Ga., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Savannah River Division event on Clarks Hill Lake. For his victory, McClellon earned $5,014.
“We started off right first thing that morning,” said McClellon. “I got a nice one on my third cast of the day. I fished a 10- to 15-mile stretch on the main lake. It was a pretty standard pattern, where the fish are pulling off the bluffs and going back into the pockets to spawn. I targeted those pockets, and had pretty good success. I had 13 keepers on the day.
“We were sitting in 12 to 15 feet of water, and we were catching fish in 3 to 4 feet,” McClellon continued. “I was throwing a home-made spinnerbait that was 3/8 ounce with an Indiana Blade. I also used a Bleeding Craw Rat-L-Trap and was able to get one of my keepers on that. I seemed to have more luck with the spinnerbait, though. We just kept circling the same areas. My co-angler caught three different fish off of the same stump on three different passes. I knew that the fish are in this spot every year. It’s just being able to find them at the right time, and we did.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Jacob Whitaker, Fairview, N.C., five bass, 20-11, $2,507
3rd: Jessie Fitzgerald, Martinez, Ga., five bass, 20-4, $1,670
4th: Danny Kirk, Bartow, Ga., five bass, 19-7, $1,170
5th: Britt Smith, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 19-2, $1,003
6th: Chris Nelson, Social Circle, Ga., five bass, 18-9, $919
7th: Steve Debord, Grovetown, Ga., five bass, 17-12, $836
8th: Tillman Satterfield, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 16-8, $752
9th: Robby Hipps, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 16-2, $668
10th: Mark Curry, Evans, Ga., five bass, 15-15, $585
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Randy Jones of Elberton, Ga., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win $2,507 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Scott Roberts, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 19-5, $1,253
3rd: Deion Latimer, Belton, S.C., five bass, 17-13, $837
4th: Drew Williams, Clemson, S.C., five bass, 16-11, $585
5th: Joshua Lowe, Grovetown, Ga., five bass, 16-7, $501
6th: Anthony Marks, Spartanburg, S.C., five bass, 15-5, $460
7th: Gant Conley, Kite, Ga., five bass, 14-2, $418
8th: Chris Tinsley, Pisgah Forest, N.C., five bass, 12-12, $376
9th: Darren Jeter, Marshall, N.C., five bass, 12-8, $334
10th: Jim Hasseler, Maggie Valley, N.C., five bass, 12-0, $292
The next BFL Savannah River Division tournament is scheduled for March 31 on Lake Hartwell in Lavonia, Ga. After the fifth Savannah River 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.
