Hutto takes top honors on Clarks Hill Lake - Major League Fishing

Hutto takes top honors on Clarks Hill Lake

Broom co-angler winner
Image for Hutto takes top honors on Clarks Hill Lake
Boater Keith Hutto of Evans, Ga., won the Sept. 26-27 BFL Savannah River Division event to earn $5,761. Angler: Keith Hutto.
September 27, 2009 • MLF • Archives

APPLING, Ga. – Keith Hutto of Evans, Ga., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Savannah River Division two-day Super Tournament on Clarks Hill Lake Sunday with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 21 pounds, 6 ounces. The victory earned Hutto $5,761.

“I’ve had quite a few second-place finishes, so it was nice to win one,” Hutto said. “Actually, several of the local guys right behind me going into the second day were good local fishermen on the lake, and I felt like I’d have to have another good bag the second day.

“We had a big front come through and winds blew out of the west, which they hadn’t done for a month. All of us struggled yesterday.”

Hutto said he targeted suspended fish on offshore humps and points off ledges in 15 to 35 feet of water with a glimmer-blue Zoom Super Fluke.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Craig Johnson of Martinez, Ga. (10 bass, 20-6, $2,880); Jon Hair of Appling, Ga. (eight bass, 20-3, $1,921); Bobby Gaston of Evans, Ga. (nine bass, 18-5, $1,344); and Bart Blackburn of North Augusta, S.C. (eight bass, 17-15, $1,152).

Troy Morrow of Toccoa, Ga., took home the Boater Division Folgers Big Bass award, earning $765 for a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass he caught on a soft-plastic frog.

Heather Broom of Sylva, N.C., earned $2,880 as the co-angler winner Sunday thanks to a two-day Heather Broom of Sylva, N.C., earned $2,880 as the co-angler winner of the Sept. 26-27 BFL Savannah River Division event.catch of seven bass weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces that she caught fishing points with a soft-plastic jerkbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Evan Buller of Lincolnton, Ga. (six bass, 10-10, $1,440); Erin Schumpert of Greenwood, S.C. (five bass, 10-6, $962); Richard Buller of Washington, Ga. (five bass, 10-1, $672); and Clay Wilson of Evans, Ga. (eight bass, 9-8, $576).

Richard Buller earned $382 as the co-angler Folgers Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 7-ounce bass.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.

The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing. In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships with total cash awards exceeding $3.5 million. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart FLW Tour.

In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament circuit.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also has taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports. Sign up for Player’s Advantage to get your edge and win.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.