FLORENCE, Ala. – Pro Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the FLW American Fishing Series Southeast Division tournament on Pickwick Lake with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 63 pounds, 9 ounces. For his victory, Haynes earned $18, 933.
“It’s been an exciting day,” Haynes said. “Started out the day with my boat breaking down, but was able to catch a limit. I had a back-up plan in case anything went wrong and I am very fortunate to be here now.
“I had a really good practice, but the funny thing is that I didn’t use any of those spots during the tournament. On Friday I came upon this area that just had a mother-load of fish, it was just exciting to be on it. I caught my limit there by about 11,” Haynes went on to say. “I wanted to get there early this morning, but then my boat broke down. I got to the spot about mid morning and I saw them on my graph just laughing at me so I just started picking away at the spot and was able to get my limit.
“My main goal was just to get them fired-up and then I knew I could catch them. My main baits were a Strike King crankbait, a Strike King jig, and a Carolina rig with a brushhog.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: William Davis, Sheffield, Ala., 15 bass, 53-2, $6,437
3rd: Kevin Snider, Elizabethtown, Ky., 15 bass, 45-14, $4,544
4th: Jade Keeton, Florence, Ala., 15 bass, 44-9, $3,787
5th: Michael Wooley, Collierville, Tenn., 15 bass, 44-4, $3,408
6th: Leon Williams, Fairdale, Ky., 15 bass, 44-3, $3,029
7th: Nathan Brewer, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-12, $2,651
8th: Adam Lynch, Hamilton, Ala., 15 bass, 38-14, $2,272
9th: Shawn Perrigo, Rienzi, Miss., 15 bass, 36-15, $1,893
10th: Erwin Cole, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 12 bass, 30-14, $1,515
Chris Weber of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday – a 7-pound, 4-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $194.
Tripp Pittman of Holly Springs, Miss., won the Co-angler Division and $7,680 cash, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 39 pounds, 6 ounces.
Pittman said that he was using mostly spinnerbaits in grass to catch his limits. H was using a chatterbait to get his big fish, 6-13 was his big fish on Thursday and he had a 4-13 on Friday to keep him in the lead.
Pittman caught five bass weighing 15-9 Thursday while fishing with pro Craig Taylor of Tallahassee, Fla., to open the tournament in second place. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 11-4 to make the top-10 cut in first place while fishing with pro Reginald Pickett of Greensboro, N.C. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with five bass weighing 12-9 while fishing with Randy Haynes.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were:
2nd: Randy Miller, Athens, Ala., 15 bass, 36-15, $3,072
3rd: Craig Grubbs, Tishomingo, Miss., 15 bass, 34-9, $1,536
4th: Mitch Reynolds, Petal, Miss., 15 bass, 34, $1,344
5th: Anthony Goggins, Auburn, Ala., 13 bass, 33-9, $1,152
6th: Bill Kisiah, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 15 bass, 32-5, $960
7th: Daniel Hinkelman, Conyers, Ga., 13 bass, 32-3, $768
8th: Lyn Melton, Florence, Ala., 14 bass, 14, 30-13, $691
9th: Wendell Johnston, Belfast, Tenn., 11 bass, 25-11, $614
10th: Daniel Costley, Memphis, Tenn., 11 bass, 24-1, $538
Pittman, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $129.
The top pro and co-angler based on point standings from each of the FLW American Fishing Series divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast and Texas – will qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 50 pros and co-anglers from each division also qualify for the American Fishing Series Invitational on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., Nov. 4-6, with the winning pro and co-angler also advancing to the Forrest Wood Cup.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.