Senko Puts Mooneyham on Top

Freeman takes co-angler title on Gaston

Scott Mooneyham of Fayetteville, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division tournament on Lake Gaston presented by Power-Pole. For his victory, Mooneyham took home $2,977.

Mooneyham says he concentrated on stumps and small patches of grass on the upper end of the lake.

“I grinded through three different areas to catch my limit,” says Mooneyham, who earned the first win of his FLW career. “There were hard stems on the grass and the fish were right on the edge of them. At the first stop, I boated around ten keepers before 11 a.m.

“Every fish I caught was on a green-pumpkin Yamamoto Senko,” says Mooneyham. “I’d cast it out there, let it fall straight down on the slackline and pull it in after a few seconds. I tried throwing a few other things but the Senko is what they wanted.”

Mooneyham finished his day navigating two areas, which included a nearby stump field and a spawning pocket.

“I caught a 3-pounder in the field and upgraded with one more in the pocket,” says Mooneyham. “I actually lost a 6-pounder in the pocket right at the end of the day. Luckily it didn’t cost me the tournament.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Scott Mooneyham, Fayetteville, N.C., five bass, 16-2, $2,977

2^nd:         Danny Moss Jr., Norlina, N.C., five bass, 16-1, $1,489

3^rd:          Michael Law, Arab, Ala., five bass, 15-2, $992

4^th:          Ryan Reynolds, Danville, Va., five bass, 14-6, $695

5^th:          Sean Lewis, Baskerville, Va., five bass, 13-14, $595

6^th:          Shawn Hammack, Gasburg, Va., five bass, 13-11, $546

7^th:          D. Keith Joyce, Apex, N.C., five bass, 13-6, $471

7^th:          Flash Butts, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 13-6, $471

9^th:          Wally Szuba, Cary, N.C., five bass, 12-14, $397

10^th:        Raymond Jones III, Statesville, N.C., five bass, 12-7, $347

Complete results can be found here.

Chris Baldwin of Lexington, North Carolina, caught a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $340.

Freeman wins co-angler title

Larry Freeman Jr., of La Crosse, Virginia, weighed in four bass totaling 9 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,489.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Larry Freeman Jr., La Crosse, Va., four bass, 9-14, $1,489

2^nd:         Dekle Taylor, Monroe, N.C., five bass, 9-10, $744

3^rd:          Dexter Andrews, Louisburg, N.C., five bass, 9-9, $497

4^th:          Conner Davis, Bear Creek, N.C., five bass, 8-11, $347

5^th:          Bill Naron, Beaverdam, Va., four bass, 8-10, $298

6^th:          Frank White, Marion, N.C., three bass, 8-9, $443

7^th:          Jerry Taylor, N. Prince George, Va., three bass, 8-2, $248

8^th:          Jerry Neuner, Rutherfordton, N.C., three bass, 7-12, $223

9^th:          Mark Davis, Bear Creek, N.C., three bass, 7-1, $198

10^th:        Douglas Washburn, Bracey, Va., two bass, 6-14, $174

White caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 5 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $170.

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.