Marshall Keys on Blueback Spawn

Jeffcoat wins co-angler title on Clarks Hill

Chris Marshall of Forest City, North Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 3 ounces to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division event Saturday on Clarks Hill Lake. Marshall pocketed $6,038 for his victory.

“I caught everything I weighed in using a 7-foot, 2-inch medium-heavy Denali Kovert Lite rod and a chrome-colored Lucky Craft Gunfish topwater,” says Marshall, who earned his second BFL win in 2017 – fourth of his FLW career. “I was down on the lower end of the lake hitting main-lake and secondary points and ended up rotating through 15 different spots.”

Marshall targeted largemouth bass that were feeding on blueback herring during their spawn.

“I had one primary point that four or five of my biggest fish came from,” says Marshall. “I caught about 12 keepers throughout the day, but that particular area had the biggest bass on it.”

Marshall believes the bass were most active from 9 a.m. to noon.

“In addition to the Gunfish, I also used a Katch-Her Lures jig which really got the fish fired up,” says Marshall.

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., five bass, 18-3, $4,038 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Zachary Bennett, Loganville, Ga., five bass, 17-8, $1,809

3^rd:          Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 16-1, $1,138

4^th:          Paul Ham, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 15-5, $741

4^th:          Wendell Causey Jr., Irmo, S.C., five bass, 15-5, $1,041

6^th:          Tom Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 15-0, $627

7^th:          Christopher Chavis, Rincon, Ga., five bass, 14-11, $570

8^th:          Daniel Howell, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 14-10, $513

9^th:          Joey Spradley, Gloverville, S.C., five bass, 14-1, $456

10^th:        Joseph Marks, Duncan, S.C., five bass, 13-15, $399

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Marshall also caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $420.

Jeffcoat wins co-angler title

Brandon Jeffcoat of Columbia, South Carolina, weighed in five bass totaling 16 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $1,709.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Brandon Jeffcoat, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 16-3, $1,709

2^nd:         Jeremy Bouldin, Kings Mountain, N.C., five bass, 14-4, $855

3^rd:          Jack Daniel Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., five bass, 11-6, $770

4^th:          Robert Goodman, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 10-15, $399

5^th:          Donnie Stouffer, Rock Hill, S.C., four bass, 10-8, $552

6^th:          Wesley Mullins, Bloomingdale, Ga., five bass, 10-5, $313

7^th:          Charles Dickens, Appling, Ga., five bass, 10-1, $285

8^th:          Mark Lynch, Goose Creek, S.C., five bass, 9-7, $256

9^th:          Ronald Harrell, Mitchell, Ga., five bass, 9-4, $278

10^th:        James Meadows, Goose Creek, S.C., five bass, 9-2, $199

Stouffer caught the biggest bass among Co-angler Division anglers, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $210.

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. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. 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.