HOLMES WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE SOUTH CAROLINA DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE WATEREE

CAMDEN, S.C. (April 20, 2015) – Bryan Holmes of Blythewood, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Wateree. For his victory, Holmes earned $3,296.

“My co-angler and I had an awesome day,” Holmes said. “We found our groove and just kept pushing forward.”

Holmes said he targeted both prespawn and spawning fish using a black and yellow-colored Booyah Poppin’ Pad Crasher Frog and a buzzbait along mid-lake grass flats.

“We didn’t have much success on the buzzbait, but the frog seemed to do well,” Holmes said. “After missing a bunch of fish early I switched to a Shooter Lures peanut butter and jelly-colored jig and dragged it along the edges of the grass and that seemed to work better.”

Holmes said he expected to find more fish on the spawning beds, he quickly adapted to the strong jig bite in the shallow grass.

“We had a cold rain come through a few days prior to the tournament so I think that pushed fish off the beds and back out into deeper water,” said Holmes. “I only caught one fish off of a bed.

“Wateree Creek produced the most fish for us,” Holmes continued. “I boated nine bass all day and culled four times.”

Holmes went on to say that finding unused water sealed the win for him at this particular tournament.

“A lot of anglers favor the same type of baits on Lake Wateree, so it’s all about location,” Holmes said.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Bryan Holmes, Blythewood, S.C., five bass, 20-12, $3,296

2nd:         Carlton Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., five bass, 19-1, $1,648

3rd:          Joey Sabbagha, Chapin, S.C., five bass, 18-14, $1,099

4th:          Anthony Marks, Spartanburg, S.C., five bass, 18-11, $769

5th:          Sandy Oliver, Hartsville, S.C., five bass, 18-10, $659

6th:          John Duvall, Madison, Ga., five bass, 18-5, $576

6th:          Sean Skey, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 18-5, $576

8th:          Scott Peavy, Blythewood, S.C., five bass, 18-3, $494

9th:          Daryl Watson, Matthews, N.C., five bass, 18-0, $439

10th:        Lance Owen, Greer, S.C., five bass, 17-6, $385

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Jerry Freezon of Elgin, South Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $405.

Lonnie Drusch of Sumter, South Carolina, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win $1,648 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Lonnie Drusch, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 17-13, $1,648

2nd:         John Wilson, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 14-3, $824

3rd:          Jason Hueble, Whitmire, S.C., five bass, 14-0, $549

4th:          Adam Beckum, Martinez, Ga., five bass, 13-13, $385

5th:          Aaron Morris, Fountain Inn, S.C., four bass, 13-9, $330

6th:          Brian Howard, Andrews, S.C., five bass, 13-4, $302

7th:          Chris Teague, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 13-3, $275

8th:          Al Edwards, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 12-11, $247

9th:          Chad Craven, Irmo, S.C., three bass, 12-9, $220

10th:        Mike Field, Columbia, S.C., four bass, 11-2, $192

Kevin Babcock of Greenville, South Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $202.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

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