Walden Ran Away from Crowds

McKinney claims c-angler title

Randy Walden of Tompkinsville, Kentucky, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the third FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Music City Division tournament of 2016 on Center Hill Lake, presented by Power-Pole. For his victory, Walden took home $2,748.

“The BFL tournaments are the biggest tournaments that I fish, so to win one is really pretty special to me,” says Walden, who earned the first win of his career in FLW competition. “I still think that it is pretty crazy that I won, but it’s a great feeling of accomplishment.

“I was fishing up the river, keying in on the shad spawn,” Walden continues. “I found one spot near some bridge pilings where they were biting really good in the morning, then as the day progressed I was targeting wood and timber along bluff walls.”

Walden says that he caught around 20 keepers throughout the day on a Strike King KVD Sexy Dawg topwater bait and a green-pumpkin and orange-colored Legal Limit Lures jig with a green-pumpkin Strike King Rage Tail Craw.

“I think I was just in the right areas,” Walden says. “I was fishing up the river in deep, clear water and I didn’t see any other boats all day long. I got lucky and found the right fish and had them all to myself.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:           Randy Walden, Tompkinsville, Ky., five bass, 16-9, $2,748

2^nd:          Brandon Tramel, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 16-4, $1,679

3^rd:          Josh Tramel, Smithville, Tenn., five bass, 15-11, $916

4^th:           Rod Huff, Monterey, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $595

4^th:           J.B. King, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $595

6^th:           Dusty Rice, McMinnville, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $481

6^th:           Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $481

8^th:           Daniel Johnson, Lebanon, Tenn., four bass, 13-10, $412

9^th:           Blake Whittaker, Monterey, Tenn., five bass, 13-7, $366

10^th:        John Graves, Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 13-6, $321

Complete results can be found here.

Brandon Tramel caught a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $305.

McKinney wins co-angler title

Matthew McKinney of Nashville, Tennessee, weighed in five bass totaling 18 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to earn $1,414 and win the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:           Matthew McKinney, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 18-4, $1,414

2^nd:          Zach Sparks, Smithville, Tenn., four bass, 12-1, $639

3^rd:          Ron Poland, Murfreesboro, Tenn., four bass, 11-0, $427

4^th:           Taylor Wisniewski, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 10-10, $298

5^th:           Alex Hester, Crossville, Tenn., five bass, 10-0, $255

6^th:           Richard Walker, Franklin, Tenn., five bass, 9-14, $234

7^th:           Larry Anderson, Hillsboro, Ohio, five bass, 9-8, $213

8^th:           Ricky England, Sparta, Tenn., four bass, 8-7, $192

9^th:           Darryl Humphrey, Murfreesboro, Tenn., three bass, 8-0, $170

10^th:        Phil Williams, Jr., Jamestown, Ky., four bass, 7-12, $149

McKinney also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $137.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 27-29 Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South 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.