Shad Spawn Key For Lowe on Oconee

Hyde nest co-angler title in Bulldog Division event

Todd Lowe of Greensboro, Georgia, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds even Saturday to win the fourth FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bulldog Division tournament of 2016 on Lake Oconee. For his victory, Lowe took home $6,825.

“I spent my day fishing main-lake seawalls that were filled with riprap and had small, secondary pockets in them,” says Lowe, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “All of the areas I hit were within a mile of one another. The shad have been spawning there for about two weeks, so they were holding a lot of fish.”

Lowe used one bait to entice his winning limit – a natural shad-colored Rebel Pop-R.

“I’d throw it out there, pop it twice and then let it sit,” says Lowe. “The bites weren’t very aggressive at all. The bass weren’t blowing up on it, but rather, they were sucking it down. I caught my biggest fish – a 6-pounder – at 10:45 a.m. out of a sand-filled pocket near a boat dock. That really helped me out.”

Lowe went on to say that he caught nine keepers fairly consistently throughout his day.

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Todd Lowe, Greensboro, Ga., five bass, 17-0, $4,825 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Grant Kelly, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 16-8, $2,118

3^rd:          Terry Jordan, Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 16-5, $1,413

4^th:          Wayne Garner, Locust Grove, Ga., five bass, 15-12, $988

5^th:          Justin Lanier, Macon, Ga., five bass, 15-10, $847

6^th:          John Christopher, Watkinsville, Ga., five bass, 14-5, $776

7^th:          Blake Yarter, Monroe, Ga., four bass, 13-6, $706

8^th:          Lee Nunnally, Monroe, Ga., five bass, 13-3, $635

9^th:          Butch Whiteaker, Alpharetta, Ga., five bass, 12-14, $565

10^th:        David Sansbury, Hapeville, Ga., five bass, 12-9, $469

10^th:        John Duvall, Madison, Ga., four bass, 12-9, $469

Complete results can be found here.  

Lowe also caught a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $590.

Hyde wins co-angler title

Bobby Hyde of Loganville, Georgia, weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,118.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Bobby Hyde, Loganville, Ga., five bass, 14-9, $2,118

2^nd:         Herschel Edge, Buckhead, Ga., five bass, 13-2, $1,059

3^rd:          George Goodman Jr., Monticello, Ga., five bass, 11-5, $706

4^th:          Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 11-1, $494

5^th:          Billy Duvall, Madison, Ga., three bass, 10-7, $424

6^th:          Ronny Cantrell, Fitzgerald, Ga., four bass, 10-3, $388

7^th:          Coulby Lewis, Macon, Ga., three bass, 9-14, $353

8^th:          Don Griffin, Roswell, Ga., five bass, 9-13, $318

9^th:          Emory Walden, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 9-8, $282

10^th:        Adam Beckum, Martinez, Ga., five bass, 9-7, $247

Zeke Cronley of Roswell, Georgia, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $295.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, 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.