Dorsett Catches Numbers for Neely Henry Win

Kyle Dorsett of Odenville, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to earn top honors at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division tournament on Neely Henry Lake. For his efforts, Dorsett pocketed $3,592.

Dorsett said he spent the tournament fishing a 20-mile stretch between Canoe Creek and the takeoff ramp.

“I targeted a couple of areas that I found in practice that had a lot of fish,” says Dorsett, who logged his second career-victory in BFL competition. “I put 30 or 40 fish in the boat throughout the event and culled four or five times.”

Dorsett’s bait of choice was a white Dirty Jigs Swim Jig with a White Pearl-colored Zoom Super Chunk trailer.

“A lot of the field was flipping a jig or throwing a crankbait,” says Dorsett. “The reaction bite was crucial for the bigger ones. I think the Super Chunk was also a big part of my success. The fish seemed lethargic and didn’t want something with a lot of action. The Super Chunk doesn’t kick much, so it was perfect.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st: Kyle Dorsett, Odenville, Ala., five bass, 14-7, $3,592

2^nd: John Jeter, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 13-11, $2,256

3^rd: Terry Tucker, Gadsden, Ala., five bass, 12-14, $1,219

3^rd: Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 12-14, $1,019

5^th: Jason Hester, Phil Campbell, Ala., five bass, 12-13, $818

6^th: Jason Nixon, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 12-9, $659

7^th: Geoff McKnight, Rainbow City, Ala., five bass, 12-6, $599

8^th: Kent Keys, Anniston, Ala., five bass, 12-1, $539

9^th: Jack White, Vance, Ala., five bass, 12-0, $479

10^th: Bradley Jones, Aragon, Ga., five bass, 11-15, $398

10^th: Jake Roberson, Tuscumbia, Ala., five bass, 11-15, $398

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Jeter caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $460.

Mason Powell of Odenville, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and $1,796 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st: Mason Powell, Odenville, Ala., five bass, 12-8, $1,796

2^nd: James Wooddell, Columbus, Ohio, five bass, 11-12, $898

3^rd: Chris Harcrow, Dawson, Ala., five bass, 11-11, $598

4^th: James Griffin, Pelham, Ga., five bass, 10-9, $419

5^th: Harold Gauer, Phenix City, Ala., five bass, 10-6, $559

6^th: Gary Marlowe, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 10-4, $329

7^th: Chris Hawkins, Adger, Ala., five bass, 10-3, $349

8^th: Gregory Nunnelly, Ohatchee, Ala., five bass, 9-11, $269

9^th: David Ramey, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 9-5, $239

10^th: Wayne Kilgore, Attalla, Ala., five bass, 8-15, $199

10^th: Logan Henderson , Trussville, Ala., five bass, 8-15, $199

Daniel Sullivan of Guntown, Mississippi, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 3 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $230.

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.