Lake Hartwell Bass Fishing League 23 April 16

[Mike Cork]

ANDERSON, S.C. (April 25, 2016) – Pro angler Troy Morrow of Eastanollee, Georgia, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell presented by Navionics. For his victory, Morrow took home $7,684.
"My original intention was to head up the river and look for bedding fish, but when I arrived at my area they were gone," said Morrow, a four-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. "I had to adjust on the fly."
"I flipped a tree laydown using a plum-apple-colored Zoom Lizard and had some success," said Morrow. "I found that there was also a flipping bite near smaller bushes. There were a bunch of bucks in them. At some larger willow bushes, I caught one that I eventually weighed in."
Around 1 p.m., Morrow said he ran south to a pocket where he ended up catching the heaviest bass of the tournament.
"I saw a big female in there and threw the Lizard, but she wasn't biting," said Morrow. "I left her alone for awhile, then went back, pitched in a green-pumpkin Lizard, and she bit."
Morrow said his final two limit fish came on a Zoom swimbait off of docks on a nearby main-lake flat.
"Even though I wasn't able to go with my original pattern, I was still able to patch things up," said Morrow. "It was an interesting day out there."
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
               1st:          Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 17-11, $5,684 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
               2nd:         Derek Champion, Tryon, N.C., five bass, 17-5, $2,059
               3rd:          Matthew Roesch, Toccoa, Ga., five bass, 16-10, $1,374
               4th:          Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 15-9, $961
               5th:          Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 15-1, $824
               6th:          Mike Bouknight, Greenwood, S.C., five bass, 14-12, $755
               7th:          Eddie Whiten Jr., Pickens, S.C., five bass, 14-3, $652
               8th:          Chris Baxter, Winder, Ga., five bass, 14-3, $952
               9th:          David Wright, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-2, $514
               9th:          Michael Brehm, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 14-2, $514
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 
Morrow also caught a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day's Boater Big Bass award of $565.
Jody Rogers Sr. of Clarkesville, Georgia, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,059.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
               1st:          Jody Rogers Sr., Clarkesville, Ga., five bass, 12-6, $2,059
               2nd:         Christopher Chavis, Rincon, Ga., five bass, 12-0, $1,030
               3rd:          Barry Myers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 11-13, $687
               4th:          Bill Hawkins, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 11-3, $480
               5th:          Bobby Smith, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 10-10, $412
               6th:          Lesley Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-9, $378
               7th:          Stewart Uldrick, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-5, $326
               7th:          Tony Holbrooks, Franklin, N.C., five bass, 10-5, $326
               9th:          Keith Lewis, Franklin, N.C., five bass, 10-2, $275
               10th:        Stephen Burress, Mills River, N.C., five bass, 9-14, $240
Ethan Monk of Long Creek, South Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 9 ounces and earned the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $282.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. 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 are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.