Co-angler Bickers Wins by Ounces
Day-two big bite key for Kentucky co-angler
One fish is unlikely to win a three-day tournament, but the right one can help an angler dig out of a hole. Just ask co-angler Troy Bickers, who rebounded from the dreaded day-one goose egg to go worst-to-first in the Costa FLW Series Central Division opener presented by Lowrance on Kentucky Lake with a winning weight of 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
Notably, the Carrollton, Ky., co-angler finished with a mere 7-ounce margin over second-place finisher Chad Allison, who led day two, but blanked in the final round.
Bickers caught what turned out to be the winning fish on day two.
“The mindset was just slow down and fish; cover the water behind my angler,” he says. “I did that, and luckily I got one really big bite. I had an 8-3, and that makes your bag come alive really quick.
“I knew if I could catch about 14 pounds, I could get back into the top 10. So, it worked out great.”
Bickers’ huge day-two bass was the biggest co-angler fish and second largest of the tournament, behind pro Steven Hatala’s 8-11 on day one. His first catch of the morning, that day-two kicker anchored a three-fish bag of 14-4 that earned Bickers a final-round berth by moving him from the bottom of the standings to seventh place.
On day three, Bickers added two more keepers for 6-10. He caught all of his fish on a 1/4-ounce shaky head with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaverin the big Texan color.
“I was just trying to go slow and fish really finesse,” Bickers says. “My pros were picking apart the water, so I knew I had to go slow and light and do something a little different.”
Top 10 co-anglers
1. Troy Bickers – Carrollton, Ky. – 20-14 (5) – $27,196
2. Chad G. Allison – Carl Junction, Mo. – 20-7 (7) – $5,069
3. Kit Lueg – Olathe, Kan. – 19-10 (6) – $4,125
4. Christopher Stites Sr. – Lebanon, Tenn. – 19-5 (6) – $3,478
5. Bill Fussell – Thibodaux, La. – 17-8 (4) – $2,981
6. Craig Hulsey – Park Hills, Mo. – 17-3 (5) – $2,484
7. Kennith George – Edmond, Okla. – 14-15 (5) – $2,038
8. Kevin Mahlke – Wentzville, Mo. – 14-14 (4) – $1,739
9. Steve Madar – Starkville, Miss. – 14-11 (4) – $1,491
10. Howard Poitevint – Bainbridge, Ga. – 14-2 (3) – $1,492