Ganey Cracks 20-11 on Big Sam
Glynn takes co-angler title
Rylon Ganey of Pineville, Louisiana, won Saturday’s T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Cowboy Division tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces. For his win, Ganey took home $6,362.
Ganey primarily flipped hay grass and bushes in two areas to catch his fish. His first area – in Mill Creek – only gave up one keeper. It was his second stop, though, that really jumpstarted his day.
“I ran up to my second area across the lake from Mill Creek around 9 [a.m.], flipped in a bush, and within five flips I caught an 8-pounder,” says Ganey, who notched his first victory in FLW competition. “That set the tone. I knew I had a good chance to place in the top five with a kicker like that.
“Within another hour I filled my limit,” continues Ganey. “I culled three times – all in that second area. I got a lot of big bites there in practice and kept getting fish that I needed there Saturday.”
Ganey used a Watermelon Red Flake-colored Strike King Rage Bug, rigged with either ¾- or 1-ounce weights depending on how thick the cover was. He threw them on a trio of Duckett White Ice casting rods with 13 Fishing Concept “A” casting reels, spooled with 65-pound-test PowerPro Spectra braided line.
“The rods were strong and really helped me pull those fish out of the bushes – they have a great backbone on them.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Rylon Ganey, Pineville, La., five bass, 20-11, $6,362
2nd: Eric Leger, Mamou, La., five bass, 19-6, $2,353
3rd: Jarred Williams, Bunkie, La., five bass, 19-4, $1,502
4th: Jame Dubroc, Bunkie, La., five bass, 18-14, $1,052
5th: Tommy Mackey, Bryan, Texas, five bass, 17-12, $1,151
6th: Matthew McArdle, Humble, Texas, five bass, 17-0, $826
7th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, five bass, 16-10, $751
8th: Ryan Pinkston, Center, Texas, five bass, 16-3, $676
9th: Jerry King, Flint, Texas, five bass, 16-2, $601
10th: Jim Dillard, West Monroe, La., five bass, 16-0, $526
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Ganey’s big kicker bass ended up weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $655.
Glynn wins co-angler title
Michael Glynn of Boerne, Texas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,353 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 18 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Michael Glynn, Boerne, Texas, five bass, 18-9, $2,353
2nd: Hannah Gryder, Milam, Texas, five bass, 17-9, $1,127
3rd: Pete Lammons, Houston, Texas, five bass, 15-12, $801
4th: Zane Leblanc, Reserve, La., five bass, 15-2, $853
5th: Ryan Bourque, Slidell, La., five bass, 14-10, $451
6th: Logan Slaughter, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 13-15, $413
7th: Brian Tolley, Katy, Texas, five bass, 13-5, $526
8th: Clark Moore, Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 13-2, $338
9th: Sammy Strong, Orange, Texas, five bass, 13-0, $281
9th: David Beason, Evans, La., five bass, 13-0, $281
Leblanc caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $327.
The tournament was hosted by the Jasper County Development District.
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. 24-26 BFL Regional Championship on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.