Hoyle Wins T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division Finale on Lake Wylie

Piedmont’s Smith Takes Co-angler Title

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Boater Cody Hoyle of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division tournament on Lake Wylie Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of nine bass weighing 25 pounds, 8 ounces. For his win, Hoyle netted $6,253.

Hoyle said he fished up the Catawba River each day, from just above the mouth of the south fork to the Interstate 85 bridge.

“I fished clay banks, riprap and docks in 1 to 15 feet of water,” said Hoyle, who notched his first win in FLW competition. “I fished docks with a jig and then between the docks I used a square-billed crankbait. I was just trying to cover as much water as possible.”

Hoyle said he caught seven keepers Saturday, some on a TO Craw-colored Lucky Craft 1.5 Silent Squarebill crankbait, and some on a green-pumpkin jig with a green-pumpkin and red Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer.

“My dad made the jig and I caught my biggest fish on it each day,” said Hoyle. “I just put a set of Power-Poles on and they helped me get those fish as well. I set them down and was really able to pick apart those docks.”

Hoyle said his fish reloaded in the same spots Sunday and that he caught four keepers and two small fish to finish out the event.

“I caught my last fish at 2:55 (p.m.) with the jig from a dock right across the lake from the weigh-in. If I didn’t get that one I would’ve finished in second place.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

              1st:           Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., nine bass, 25-8, $6,253

               2nd:         Jeff Jennings, Rock Hill, S.C., 10 bass, 24-0, $3,126

               3rd:          Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., nine bass, 23-5, $2,018

               4th:          Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 23-2, $1,412

               5th:          Austin Johnson, Chesnee, S.C., nine bass, 23-1, $1,211

               6th:          Willie McMullen, Oxford, Ga., 10 bass, 19-13, $1,110

               7th:          Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., eight bass, 19-6, $1,009

               8th:          Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., nine bass, 19-0, $908

               9th:          Robby Rush, Gastonia, N.C., eight bass, 18-8, $807

               10th:        Jake Frye, Charlotte, N.C., nine bass, 18-3, $1,006

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Fred Kauffman of Denver, North Carolina, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 2 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $817.

Michael Smith of Piedmont, South Carolina, caught a two-day total of six bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $3,143.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

              1st:           Michael Smith, Piedmont, S.C., six bass, 12-13, $3,143

               2nd:         Bobby Henderson, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 10-8, $1,522

               3rd:          Donald Poteat, Morganton, N.C., five bass, 9-0, $980

               4th:          Cole Drummond, Effingham, S.C., four bass, 8-1, $687

               5th:          Beau Wilder, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 8-0, $589

               6th:          Harold Addison II, Columbia, S.C., four bass, 7-12, $540

               7th:          Khris Williams, Mount Holly, N.C., four bass, 7-11, $491

               8th:          Kate Hough, Gilbert, S.C., three bass, 7-7, $441

               9th:          Jarrod Egolf, Frederick, Md., three bass, 6-14, $392

               10th:        Jason Byrd, Lugoff, S.C., three bass, 6-12, $343

Tom Brown of Newton, North Carolina, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 3 pounds, 12 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $397.

The 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division finale on Lake Wylie was hosted by the Rock Hill/York County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. 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 2019 BFL All-American will take place May 30-June 1 on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

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 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. 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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