Alabama, Horton heat up TBF Southern Divisional with wins

Alabama gets first TBF Southern Divisional win in 13 years

HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. – The Alabama Bass Federation’s 12-man team coasted to victory on Kentucky Lake today on the shoulders of Jamie Horton and Brent Crow, the first- and second-place anglers, respectively.

Horton, who moved into first place yesterday, brought four largemouths to the stage today for a three-day total of 39 pounds, 7 ounces. This will be the fourth time he has qualified for The Bass Federation Championship. He will represent Alabama in the boater division. Horton also won the Castrol Maximum Performer award, a $500 Wal-Mart gift card.

“I caught all four by about 8 o’clock this morning and three of those were within the first hour. I never had another bite the rest of the day,” he said. “I felt pretty good about winning after I got those four in the boat, so I wasn’t too worried about not getting a limit.”

Horton was swimming a 3/8-ounce green-pumpkin jig tipped with a green pumpkin trailer through grass points in the Johnsonville area, a pattern he stuck with all three days.

Team Alabama, celebrating its first Southern Divisional win in 13 years, weighed a total of 280 pounds, 5 ounces and will take home a paycheck of $20,000. The North Carolina Bass Federation Team brought 276 pounds, 10 ounces to the scales for second place. Third place went to the 12-member team from Tennessee, and Florida came in fourth. Georgia placed fifth, and Kentucky came in sixth.

Crow, who moved from 14th place on the first day to third yesterday, caught a 13-pound, 3-ounce limit today for a three-day total of 38 pounds, 11 ounces. He was fishing as a nonboater, but used his own boat after his partner today agreed to swap roles.

“The first day, my spot was on the way to my partner’s spot, so he agreed to stop and give it a try. We both caught a limit. The second day, my partner was willing to hit my spot first and we both caught a limit again,” recalled Crow. “Today, my partner knew I was in the running, so he agreed to let me run my boat and hit my spots. He caught 14 pounds. Between me and my partners, we caught 55 keepers from one area about the size of a kitchen.

“I really have to give credit to my partners. All three were great guys and I want to thank them again.”

He fished a 1-ounce jig on a hump near the mouth of a creek, a piece of structure that wasn’t on any map or GPS software program. He and his partner caught 28 legal bass by 9 a.m. from that spot today, so they decided to go looking for bigger bass. They never found them.

“We caught other fish. The last spot I hit we caught six in about 10 minutes, but we ran out of time. I just never did get on a big-fish bite, but I sure caught a bunch,” he said.

Tennessee angler Wade Caperton, who slipped from second to third place today, brought another five-bass limit to the stage today, his third of the tournament, for a total weight of 37 pounds, 9 ounces. Today’s limit weighed 11 pounds, 14 ounces. Like Crow, he was fishing as a nonboater, but drew three partners who allowed him to fish his spots. Caperton’s partner today allowed him to take his own boat.

“I lost one about 4 1/2 at the boat, broke two off and had four or five others pull off. I only landed five keepers, so I think I might have won it had I landed at least one of the bigger ones I lost,” he said. “I’m really thankful my partner today let me run my own boat. He’s a great guy and I made a friend for life.”

Carl Robertson, of Clarksville, Tenn., came in fourth place with a total weight of 34 pounds, 15 ounces, and Sonny Johnston, also from Tennessee, finished fifth with 33 pounds, 8 ounces. James Nance of North Carolina was sixth; Panama City, Fla., angler Bobby Smith was seventh; Bill Goodrich of North Carolina finished eighth; Birmingham, Ala., angler Lee Byrd placed ninth; and Karl Reitzel of north Carolina rounded out the top 10.

Anglers representing their states at the TBF Championship are as follows: Jamie Horton and Brent Crow will represent Alabama; James Nance and Bill Goodrich will fish for Team North Carolina; Wade Caperton and Carl Robertson will fish under the Tennessee flag; Bobby Smith and Wayne Black will represent Florida; Craig Johnson and Mike Faulkner will fish for Georgia; and Bill Lowther and David Taylor are going to represent Kentucky.

“We really had a very low loss of bass thanks to the National Guard live-release boat,” said David Simmons, who serves as FLW Outdoors’ TBF programs manager. “The Ohio Bass Federation volunteers did a great job running the boat, and the anglers really did a good job at taking care of their fish.”

The TBF Southern Divisional Championship is sponsored by The National Guard and was hosted by the Tennessee Bass Federation and the Humphrey County Chamber of Commerce.