York uses Seawalls to Win
Gainesville’s Grizzle claims Co-angler title
Jeremy York of Pompano Beach, Florida, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bulldog Division event on Lake Oconee presented by Navionics. York pocketed $4,686 for his victory.
“I took off down the lake and turned into a little place where no one was fishing,” said York, a former FLW Tour pro who earned his first career-win in BFL competition. “I hadn’t caught anything there in weeks, but I pulled in and was able to catch a couple keepers off of a seawall.
“Those two catches told me what the bass were doing,” continued York. “When I caught them in that area, I knew I could concentrate on seawalls for the rest of the day. I fished in there for another 90 minutes, and then went to a couple of other spots that looked similar nearby.”
York said his bait of choice throughout the tournament was a green-pumpkin-colored Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.
“I threw the Sweet Beaver up to the seawall and worked it back 3 or 4 feet,” said York. “I’m usually popping and shaking that type of bait, but on Saturday dragging it slow was the deal.”
York said he caught his biggest bass around 2:30 p.m.
“I fired the Sweet Beaver out to a seawall in one of my pockets and caught it,” said York. “It was just one of those days you knew where they’d be active.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jeremy York, Pompano Beach, Fla., five bass, 20-9, $4,686
2nd: Miles Burghoff, Santa Cruz, Calif., five bass, 17-10, $2,543
3rd: Chris Baxter, Winder, Ga., five bass, 17-6, $1,962
4th: Roger Stubbs, McDonough, Ga., five bass, 17-0, $1,093
5th: Rob Jordan, Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 16-13, $937
6th: John Christopher, Watkinsville, Ga., five bass, 16-2, $859
7th: Steve Phillips, Douglas, Ga., five bass, 15-11, $781
8th: Michael Conley, Bainbridge, Ga., five bass, 15-7, $703
9th: Barry Stokes, Oxford, Ga., five bass, 15-5, $625
10th: Barry Hooper, Monticello, Ga., five bass, 15-1, $547
Complete results can be found here.
Big Bass
Thomas Phares of Buckhead, Georgia, caught a bass weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $690.
Harold Grizzle of Gainesville, Georgia, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $2,443.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 15-9, $2,443
2nd: David Wright, Franklin, Ga., four bass, 14-4, $1,172
3rd: Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 12-11, $831
4th: Ryan Stewart, Roswell, Ga., four bass, 12-9, $547
5th: Ronald Harris, Jefferson, Ga., five bass, 11-6, $469
6th: Chance Hebert, Norcross, Ga., five bass, 10-3, $410
6th: Harold Addison II, Columbia, S.C., four bass, 10-3, $410
8th: Bryan Price, Canton, Ga., four bass, 9-14, $351
9th: Robert Gilliam, Macon, Ga., five bass, 8-9, $312
10th: Deron Burdette, Fayetteville, Ga., three bass, 8-3, $273
Complete results can be found here.
Stephen Clay of Milledgeville, Georgia, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $345.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.