Birr Cranks Bushes for Kerr Win
Luther nets co-angler crown in North Carolina Division event
Boater Michael Birr of Franklinton, North Carolina, weighed a 18-pound, 15-ounce, limit of bass Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division event on Kerr Lake. For his win, Birr pocketed $4,313.
“I started out in Nutbush Creek but they weren’t biting, so I made a long run and caught all of my fish within three hours near Clarksville,” says Birr, who logged his second win on Kerr Lake in BFL competition. “I cranked shallow right in front of bushes where fish were staging. Normally they’d be spawning in the bushes, but the water wasn’t high enough.”
Birr used an unnamed custom-colored crankbait to catch his fish and rotated through a few different spots in a specific creek.
“A recent local tournament on Kerr Lake was won in Nutbush Creek, so knowing when to make the move out of there was key for me,” says Birr. “I lost a 5-pounder first thing in the morning which I thought would cost me the tournament, but I was able to get five more of the right bites.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Michael Birr, Franklinton, N.C., five bass, 18-15, $4,313
2nd: Andy Nix, Thomasville, N.C., five bass, 17-8, $1,657
3rd: Rodney Bell, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 13-14, $1,037
4th: James Wall, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 13-0, $726
5th: Jason Houchins, Clarksville, Va., three bass, 12-12, $988
6th: Ryan Deal, Indian Trail, N.C., four bass, 12-8, $571
7th: Matt Stoupa, Colonial Heights, Va., four bass, 12-3, $519
8th: Travis Young, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 11-6, $467
9th: James Stowers, Narrows, Va., four bass, 11-1, $415
10th: Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., four bass, 10-9, $363
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Houchins weighed a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $365.
Luther wins co-angler title
Bowe Luther of Mooresville, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $1,757 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Bowe Luther, Mooresville, N.C., four bass, 12-10, $1,757
2nd: Brian Bird, Huntersville, N.C., three bass, 8-10, $960
3rd: Tony Laaper, Pittsboro, N.C., four bass, 7-11, $571
4th: Paul Foley, Mooresville, N.C., four bass, 7-9, $363
5th: Jeff Scism, Shelby, N.C., two bass, 7-6, $298
5th: Mark Whitman, Elon, N.C., three bass, 7-6, $298
7th: Dalton Marlow, Maiden, N.C., four bass, 7-2, $259
8th: Barry Burford, Charlotte, N.C., two bass, 6-15, $233
9th: Jeff White, Rhoadesville, Va., two bass, 5-13, $208
10th: Tristen Trull, Mount Holly, N.C., one bass, 5-0, $172
10th: Ian Dubee, Chapel Hill, N.C., one bass, 5-0, $172
Bird caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $182.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division event on Kerr Lake was hosted by the Vance County Department of Tourism.
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. 11-13 BFL Regional Championship on Chesapeake Bay in North East, Tennessee. 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 2018 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 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.