Frog Carries Lowery to Victory

Miller, Thaggard tie for co-angler title

ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. – David Lowery of Phenix City, Alabama, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Bama Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Martin. For his victory, Lowery earned $4,385.

“It feels great to win,” said Lowery. “It was completely unexpected. I figured I could go out there and catch 10 or 11 pounds, but ended up bringing in more.”

Lowery said he primarily targeted fish that were waiting to move into the spawning pockets and eating bream along clay shelves. For bait, he used a Rainforest-colored Spro Poppin’ Frog.

“The fish were cruising up and down those drop offs,” Lowery said. “To get them to eat the frog, they had to be traveling in groups. If it was a single fish, it would come up, look at the bait and leave. It was like they preferred to compete with one another for food.

“After I would hook one, I was able to see where they went,” Lowery continued. “I would follow them another 25 or 30 yards and was able to catch a second one.”

As he worked his way to the back of the pockets, Lowery said that he used the frog as a search bait before switching to a green pumpkin Fighting Frog from Big Bite Baits.

“They would come to the surface, look at it and bite a lot of the time,” said Lowery. “It was a great backup bait.

“I ended up catching around 14 keepers,” Lowery said. “A lot of the guys in the tournament thought the fish had already come up to spawn, and some of them have, but I think the biggest stringers are yet to come.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          David Lowery, Phenix City, Ala., five bass, 14-8, $4,385

2^nd:         Tim Malcolm, Americus, Ga., five bass, 13-1, $2,193

3^rd:          Patrick Dobbins, Opelika, Ala., five bass, 12-14, $1,463

4^th:          Chad Newbolt, Opelika, Ala., five bass, 12-8, $1,023

5^th:          Kenny Everette, Villa Rica, Ga., five bass, 12-6, $877

6^th:          Sam Stewart, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 12-4, $804

7^th:          David Gaston, Oak Grove, Ala., five bass, 12-3, $731

8^th:          Kip Carter, Social Circle, Ga., five bass, 12-1, $658

9^th:          Josh Stracner, Vandiver, Ala., five bass, 11-12, $585

10^th:        Jody Thaggard, Dadeville, Ala., five bass, 11-5, $512              

Complete results can be found here. 

Gaston caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $620.

Miller wins co-angler title

Vernon Miller of Manchester, Georgia, and Zack Thaggard of Dadeville, Alabama, both weighed five-bass limits totaling 10 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to tie for first place and win $1,644 each in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Vernon Miller, Manchester, Ga., five bass, 10-5, $1,644

1^st:          Zack Thaggard, Dadeville, Ala., five bass, 10-5, $1,644

3^rd:          Jonathon Cone, Pell City, Ala., five bass, 9-12, $730

4^th:          Brandon Burton, Steele, Ala., five bass, 9-10, $475

4^th:          Chad Fowler, LaGrange, Ga., five bass, 9-10, $475

6^th:          Charlie Dick, Conyers, Ga., five bass, 9-9, $402

7^th:          Wesley Rushing, Abbeville, Ala., five bass, 9-1, $365

8^th:          Dennis McGouirk, Carrollton, Ga., five bass, 8-12, $310

8^th:          Undre Montgomery, Atlanta, Ga., five bass, 8-12, $310

10^th:        David Pollard, Carrollton, Ga., five bass, 8-10, $256

Miller also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $310.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. 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.