Clarks Hill Lake Bass Fishing League 17 may 15

[Mike Cork]

TIDWELL WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE SOUTH CAROLINA DIVISION EVENT ON CLARKS HILL LAKE
                                                                                                               
Glouse wins co-angler title

MCCORMICK, S.C. (May 18, 2015) – Brian Tidwell of Seneca, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament of 2015 on Clarks Hill Lake. For his victory, Tidwell earned $3,021.


Brian Tidwell of Seneca, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the South Carolina Division tournament on Clarks Hill Lake and a paycheck worth $3,021. (FLW)

"There's lot of talent in this division so winning is a big accomplishment for me," said Tidwell. "I've fished a lot of FLW events before, but have never won one. I couldn't be happier with how my day turned out."

Tidwell said he focused on lower-lake clay points, in 10- to 15-foot depths, near the Clarks Hill Dam.

"Of the 20 points that I hit, there were six that really fired so I spent my day rotating through them," said Tidwell. "I lost a 5- and 3-pounder around 8:45 a.m. and thought I was out of contention already."

Tidwell said that he recovered and caught his winning stringer on a Carolina-rigged green-pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm. Around 2:00 p.m., he fired up a school and caught a 3-pound kicker on a chrome-colored Heddon Zara Spook to secure his win. Tidwell said he ended up catching a total of eight fish.

"The key was slowing down and using the Carolina-rigged Trick Worm. Other anglers were throwing topwater baits but I knew they were too fast for this time of the season," concluded Tidwell.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Brian Tidwell, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 17-11, $3,021
2nd:         Kameron Harbin, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 17-5, $1,511
3rd:          Sammy Moody, Mauldin, S.C., five bass, 16-4, $1,007
4th:          Wendell Causey, Jr., Columbia, S.C., five bass, 15-9, $705
5th:          Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., five bass, 15-4, $604
6th:          Joey Spradley, Gloverville, S.C., five bass, 14-15, $554
7th:          Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-5, $504
8th:          Carl Smith, Lugoff, S.C., five bass, 13-8, $453
9th:          Anthony Marks, Spartanburg, S.C., five bass, 13-3, $403
10th:        Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 13-2, $352
             
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 

Marks caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces and earned the day's Big Bass award of $345.

Greg Glouse of Liberty, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $1,511 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 12-14, $1,511
2nd:         Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 11-15, $755
3rd:          Calvin Sharp, Round O, S.C., five bass, 10-12, $504
4th:          John Wilson, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 9-13, $352
5th:          Tim Kuykendall, Laurens, S.C., five bass, 8-13, $302
6th:          Tony Everhart, Gaffney, S.C., four bass, 8-5, $277
7th:          Richie Dixon, Camden, S.C., three bass, 7-15, $252
8th:          Tristen Trull, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 7-13, $227
9th:          Carluss King, Galivants Ferry, S.C., four bass, 6-10, $201
10th:        Adam Fincher, Roebuck, S.C., three bass, 6-3, $176

Smith caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day's Big Bass award of $172.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C 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 50 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.