Wagner whacks ’em on Guntersville

Sparks lands co-angler crown

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Adam Wagner of Cookeville, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 29 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Music City Division event on Lake Guntersville. For his victory, Wagner earned $3,386.

“The weather was cloudy and cold,” said Wagner. “My morning started off well and I caught two keepers pretty fast on my first spot. One fish was a 3-pounder and the other was a 5-pounder. The area that I chose to fish was a small pocket just off the main river channel. There were two points going into that pocket where those fish were staging, and that’s where I focused my efforts.

“After catching those two on a jig, I picked up an Alabama rig and finished off my limit,” Wagner continued. “I had 17 pounds after I got done with that spot, but I fished the rest of the day without much success. I caught a few fish here and there on a Rat-L-Trap, but I was not upgrading my weight.

“With only a little time left in the day I pulled up to a rip rap bank and picked up my flipping stick with another jig tied on,” Wagner went on to say. “After about 10 flips I had a 7-13 and the 7-9 in the boat. These fish were surprisingly shallow in about a foot of water and right on the bank. When I set the hook, I could immediately see the fish fighting. It was the best day I have ever had on Guntersville.”

Wagner was using an assortment of baits from the Zorro Bait Company. He used a 3/8-ounce Booza Bug Jig to catch his early-morning fish and stepped it up to a 1/2-ounce Booza Brush Bug Jig later in the afternoon. Both had skirts colored in a “Missouri Craw” pattern, which consists of a combination of dark green and brown strands, with a few chartreuse ones thrown in for brightness.

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

2nd: Johnny Patterson, Grant, Ala., five bass, 26-15, $1,693

3rd: Andrew Crabtree, Cane Ridge, Tenn., five bass, 26-12, $1,129

4th: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., five bass, 24-8, $790 + Evinrude Bonus: $300

5th: Tim Hurst, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 23-11, $677

6th: D. Murphy, Madison, Ala., five bass, 22-4, $621

7th: Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 21-7, $564

8th: Scott Brummett, Brentwood, Tenn., five bass, 21-3, $479

8th: Robert Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 21-3, $479

10th: Curtis Merriman II, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 20-13, $395

Complete results can be found here.

Sparks wins co-angler title

Jimmy Sparks of Tuscumbia, Ala., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 27 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $1,693 in the co-angler division.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

2nd: Brandon Maynard, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 23-14, $846

3rd: Lynn Spears, Athens, Tenn., five bass, 20-1, $564

4th: Elliot Wenskunas, Smyrna, Tenn., two bass, 12-10, $395

5th: Bobby Whitson, Brentwood, Tenn., four bass, 11-1, $339

6th: Damien Willis, Jacksonville, Ala., three bass, 10-12, $310

7th: Lee Graves, Southside, Ala., three bass, 10-2, $282

8th: Robert Bobbitt, Mount Juliet, Tenn., three bass, 9-15, $254

9th: Tony Hines, New Market, Ala., three bass, 9-11, $226

10th: Jeff Johnston, Nashville, Tenn., two bass, 8-15, $198

Complete co-angler results can be found here.

The next BFL Music City Division tournament is scheduled for March 9 on Percy Priest in Smyrna, Tenn. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 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 40 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 presented by Chevy. The 2013 BFL All-American is being held June 27-29 on the Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tenn. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

About FLW

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.