Chandler Wins FLW Bass Fishing League Savannah River Division Event on Lake Russell

Roberts wins co-angler title

ELBERTON, Ga. – Kevin Chandler of New London, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the third FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament of 2016 on Lake Russell. For his victory, Chandler took home $5,466.

Chandler said he began his day targeting bass on the Savannah River. He split his efforts between a Hawg Caller spinnerbait and a chartreuse-colored Strike King spinnerbait.

“I slow rolled both along rocky points until about 10 a.m.,” said Chandler, who has three career wins in FLW competition. “I was able to bring in about 10 keepers before the bite slowed down. After that I decided to make a run for new cover and switch techniques.”

The North Carolina angler said he finished out his day flipping shallow brush in the backs of creeks using a green-pumpkin and brown-colored custom jig.

“I caught two of my heaviest fish on the jig – a 5½- and a 3½-pounder,” said Chandler. “I used a more subtle approach because the water was only about a foot deep. I ended up with five more keepers and figured I had enough to make a run for the win.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

               1^st:          Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 18-8, $3,466 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

               2^nd:         Joey Spradley, Gloverville, S.C., five bass, 17-1, $1,733

               3^rd:          Darren Taylor, Lexington, Ga., five bass, 16-9, $1,155

               4^th:          Jeremy Strong, Elberton, Ga., five bass, 16-8, $1,109

               5^th:          B.J. Ballard, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 15-5, $693

               6^th:          Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 15-4, $635

               7^th:          Brian Callahan, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 14-15, $578

               8^th:          Mike Bouknight, Greenwood, S.C., five bass, 14-8, $520

               9^th:          Justin McLeese, Iva, S.C., five bass, 14-7, $462

               10^th:        Jason Duncan, Commerce, Ga., five bass, 14-6, $404

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Randall Spearman of Anderson, South Carolina, caught a 5-pound, 11-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $435.

Sterling Roberts of Cleveland, Georgia, weighed in five bass totaling 16 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,950.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1^st:          Sterling Roberts, Cleveland, Ga., five bass, 16-2, $1,950

               2^nd:         Ronnie Cutshall, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 14-8, $866

               3^rd:          Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 13-6, $577

               4^th:          Kevin Landreth, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 12-9, $404

               5^th:          Buddy Rice, Belton, S.C., five bass, 11-7, $347

               6^th:          Willard Berry Smith Jr., Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-15, $318

               7^th:          David Winters, Rock Hill, S.C., four bass, 10-3, $289

               8^th:          Bobby Smith, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 10-1, $260

               9^th:          William Bryson, Greer, S.C., five bass, 9-13, $231

               10^th:        Kaleb Turner, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 9-10, $192

               10^th:        Jeff Penland, Candler, N.C., five bass, 9-10, $192

Roberts also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $217.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North 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.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

About FLW

FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Periscope: @FLWFishing.

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