Georgia’s Hensley Wins T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League Bama Division Finale on Pickwick Lake Presented by Mud Hole Custom Tackle
Mississippi’s Maben Nabs Co-angler Title
FLORENCE, Ala. – Tommy Hensley of Jackson, Georgia, weighed a two-day cumulative of 10 bass totaling 28 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division tournament on Pickwick Lake presented by Mud Hole Custom Tackle. For his win, Hensley took home $5,143.
According to post-tournament reports, Hensley caught his fish in the mid-lake area, near isolated wood using a white 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Tommy Hensley, Jackson, Ga., 10 bass, 28-11, $5,143
2nd: Austin Weaver, Sheffield, Ala., 10 bass, 26-7, $2,471
3rd: Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-5, $1,648
4th: Roger Stegall, Iuka, Miss., 10 bass, 26-4, $1,153
5th: Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., 10 bass, 25-11, $1,089
6th: Kyle Lewellen, Byhalia, Miss., 10 bass, 24-8, $906
7th: Donny Beck, Killen, Ala., 10 bass, 24-7, $824
8th: Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., 10 bass, 24-2, $741
9th: Dennis Shawn Perrigo, Rienzi, Miss., 10 bass, 24-0, $659
10th: Jennings Earnest, Guin, Ala., 10 bass, 23-10, $577
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
John Jeter of Birmingham, Alabama, caught a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $607.
Josh Hamilton of Maben, Mississippi, caught a two-day total of eight bass weighing 20 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,671.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Josh Hamilton, Maben, Miss., eight bass, 20-15, $2,671
2nd: Radney Atchison, Prattville, Ala., nine bass, 20-14, $1,236
3rd: Kyle Smith, Crane Hill, Ala., six bass, 17-3, $822
4th: Chris Hawkins, Adger, Ala., six bass, 16-6, $931
5th: Mason Smith, Decatur, Ala., seven bass, 14-11, $494
6th: David Cornelius, Maylene, Ala., seven bass, 14-8, $453
7th: Collin Bruce, Florence, Ala., five bass, 12-12, $412
8th: Leandra McClendon Jr., Trussville, Ala., six bass, 11-2, $371
9th: Ronnie Seawright, Corinth, Miss., five bass, 10-11, $330
10th: Bradley Henderson, Opelika, Ala., four bass, 10-5, $288
Hawkins caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $304.
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.
The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 All-American will be held on Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, May 31-June 2 and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier City Sports Commission and the Red River Waterway Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 258 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
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