Lake Wylie Bass Fishing League Finale 24 Sept 16

[Mike Cork]

LAKE WYLIE, S.C. (Sept. 26, 2016) – Tom Rubbo of Lexington, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 6 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division Super Tournament on Lake Wylie, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 14 ounces. Rubbo pocketed $4,531 for his win.
"The lake was challenging, but I was able to get on a shallow-water pattern," said Rubbo, who logged his first win in FLW competition. "There was a lot of baitfish in the creeks, so I targeted them."
Rubbo said he fished the lower end of the lake and rotated between six different creeks.
"I caught one keeper on a small Luck-E-Strike Rick Clunn Crankbait on Day One," said Rubbo. "I fished toward the backs of the creeks and ended up catching around 10 keepers with a few different lures.
"On Sunday, I rotated between three of the creeks," Rubbo continued. "I caught a limit and culled three or four bass by 10:30 a.m. After that, I realized the fish in my school were all similar-sized, so I spent the remainder of the day looking for a bigger catch."
Rubbo said he used the Lucky-E-Strike crankbait the entire day Sunday and was able to put eight keepers in the boat.
"I really fished clean – I only lost one bass all weekend," said Rubbo. "I was able to keep the trolling motor down and maximize my fishing time."
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
               1st:          Tom Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., 10 bass, 24-14, $4,531
               2nd:         Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., eight bass, 19-8, $2,465
               3rd:          Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., eight bass, 18-8, $1,611
               4th:          Willie McMullen, Oxford, Ga., eight bass, 16-8, $1,057
               5th:          Maurice Freeze, Concord, N.C., seven bass, 15-14, $1,206
               6th:          Parks Jones Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., six bass, 13-6, $831
               7th:          Joey Sabbagha, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 13-4, $1,272
               8th:          Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., seven bass, 12-12, $680
               9th:          Johnathan Crossland, Chapin, S.C., six bass, 12-10, $604
               10th:        Winston Husband, Gilbert, S.C., six bass, 11-12, $529
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Sabbagha caught a bass weighing 5 pounds even – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day's Boater Big Bass award of $517.
Calvin Sharp of Round O, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and earned $2,200 with a two-day cumulative catch of six bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
               1st:          Calvin Sharp, Round O, S.C., six bass, 11-13, $2,200
               2nd:         Khris Williams, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 9-12, $1,300
               3rd:          David Hutcherson, Campobello, S.C., four bass, 9-6, $734
               4th:          Donald Black, Fort Mill, S.C., four bass, 8-4, $513
               5th:          Lee Inman, Inman, S.C., four bass, 7-13, $490
               6th:          Rodney Tapp, North Augusta, S.C., three bass, 6-8, $403
               7th:          Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., two bass, 5-7, $618
               8th:          Adam Fincher, Roebuck, S.C., two bass, 5-7, $330
               9th:          Randy Brown, Lugoff, S.C., two bass, 4-11, $293
               10th:        Mark Wingate, Gaston, S.C., three bass, 4-1, $257
Ruff caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $251.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Gerogia. 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.