Super Tournament Recap – Week Three
New and familiar faces top the leaderboards from the weekend
On top of the great action from the Costa FLW Series event on Lake Texoma this past weekend was a six-pack of T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Super Tournaments held across the South. It was the third week of season-ending action for a handful of BFL divisions, and unusually warm weather in much of the region proved to make for some tough fishing.
What follows is a brief overview of how each winning angler prevailed.
Shuffield wins on Hamilton
Former FLW Tour pro Spencer Shuffield claimed his second career BFL win in the Arkie Divison event on Lake Hamilton presented by Geared with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 8 ounces. He grabbed a cool $5,200 for his victory, which helped push his career earnings to more than $390,000.
As fish begin to migrate back in the creeks to gorge on shad in the fall, sometimes covering water can be the ticket. Shuffield knew that and kept it simple with a buzzbait in his hand throughout the majority of the event. He plucked his fish from roughly 2 feet of water.
More on Shuffield’s winning pattern
Hensley scores shallow on Pickwick
The Bama Division wrapped up on one of the Tennessee River’s heavy hitters, Pickwick Lake, where Tommy Hensley of Jackson, Ga., bested some Pickwick hammers with a two-day total of 28-11. The event was presented by Mud Hole Custom Tackle and handed Hensley more than $5,100 for his efforts.
Though the bite wasn’t red hot, Hensley made the most of it by targeting isolated wood on mid-lake flats. A 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait (white) did the heavy lifting.
More on Hensley’s winning pattern
Mizell cracks ’em on the Big O
Despite the recent hurricane that devastated parts of Florida, the Gator Division Super Tournament ran as scheduled, and fishing seemed to be just fine. Jessie Mizell of Sarasota, Fla., earned his third consecutive title of the season on Lake Okeechobee after hauling in 42-12. The $5,000 prize he earned for the Super Tournament title pushed Mizell’s season earnings to more than $16,000. Not bad for six days of work.
For his win this time, Mizell focused on schooling fish in the northeastern part of the lake and caught them on a 6th Sense crankbait.
More on Mizell’s winning pattern
O’Donnell masters the front of the boat
Casey O’Donnell of Langston, Ala., has spent his young career competing from the front and back of the boat in BFL and Costa FLW Series events, along with several years as a co-angler on the FLW Tour. While he has sampled success as a co-angler, O’Donnell finally broke the ice from the front of the boat last weekend with a win in the Mountain Division Super Tournament on the Barren River. He weighed 23-15 to win by a mere 2 ounces.
O’Donnell credits a portion of his win to his Ranger aluminum boat, which allowed him to more easily access water that bigger boats couldn’t reach. He fished the southern portion of the river in 2 1/2 to 5 feet of water, where he flipped stumps and laydowns.
A 1/2-ounce Gambler Jigzilla with a green pumpkin Strike King Menace Grub did the bulk of the heavy lifting, though O’Donnell’s kicker on Saturday came on a SPRO Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog 60.
O’Donnell took home more than $5,000 for his efforts.
More on O’Donnell’s winning pattern
Lack of limit doesn’t stop Guins
Jonathon Guins of Wendell, N.C., faced a tough bite on Kerr Lake for the final Piedmont Division event of the year presented by Navionics. It was so tough that he weighed in only eight bass, yet eight was enough. His two-day total of 24-13 earned Guins the win and more than $8,000.
Guins fished shallow points and pockets in 3 to 6 feet of water. He says he needed wind to help his bite, and on Sunday he got it. Guins weighed in more than 15 pounds that day.
A topwater was his primary choice, but he threw a Carolina-rigged Zoom Trick Worm when the bite slowed down toward the end of the day.
More on Guins’ winning pattern
Holcomb makes the right call on Watts Bar
Rounding out the action from the weekend was the Volunteer Division event on Watts Bar where Brian Holcomb of Madisonville, Tenn., found gold with just nine bass weighing 22-1.
Holcomb kicked things off fishing near Euchee Marina Resort where he targeted isolated clumps of milfoil in 2 feet of water. A 3/8-ounce buzzbait was the ticket on Saturday.
On day two, the buzzbait wasn’t doing the trick, so he switched to a Gambler Cane Toad and boated a limit.
The key to his victory was fishing grass with a transition on the bottom. Having deep water nearby was also crucial.