July 15, 2019 by FLW Communications
HENRICO, Va. – Boater Bryan Elrod of Mechanicsville, Virginia, won Saturday’s T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division tournament on the James River after catching five bass weighing 16 pounds, 10 ounces. For his efforts, Elrod took home $3,637.
Elrod said he fished on the lower end of the James River.
“I probably fished 8 to 10 different places during the day – all shallow to mid-depth wood in 4 to 6 feet of water,” said Elrod, who earned his fourth win BFL competition – third on the James River. “It’s about a 30 minute run down there [from takeoff] and, for the most part, the areas were within a few miles of each other.
“I targeted crabs on wood, which is what they were feeding on,” continued Elrod. “I was just running the tide, trying to stay with the low water and flipping wood. I did that for as long as we could but by the end of the day the water was high.”
Elrod said his limit came on a Texas-rigged 3½-inch green pumpkin-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw. He said he caught 10 keepers throughout the tournament.
“I have a lot of local knowledge, and I know which pieces of wood can be more productive than others,” said Elrod.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Bryan Elrod, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 16-10, $3,637
2nd: Austin Burton, Hopewell, Va., five bass, 15-0, $1,868
3rd: Mike Cherry, Hampton, Va., four bass, 14-12, $1,622
4th: Derik Hudson, Concord, Va., five bass, 14-9, $1,029
5th: Rick Tilley, Moneta, Va., five bass, 13-7, $667
6th: Michael Belter, Reidsville, N.C., five bass, 13-2, $762
7th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 12-13, $556
8th: Otto Hecht, Sneads Ferry, N.C., five bass, 12-11, $501
9th: Derek Brown, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 12-1, $445
10th: Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 11-12, $389
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Cherry caught a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $410.
Gary Peters of Surveyor, West Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,873 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds even.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Gary Peters, Surveyor, W. Va., five bass, 13-0, $1,873
2nd: Bill Naron, Beaverdam, Va., five bass, 12-13, $834
3rd: Ernest McIntyre, Fayetteville, N.C., five bass, 11-14, $558
4th: Brad Hendrix, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 10-14, $561
4th: Preston Hale, Providence Forge, Va., five bass, 10-14, $361
6th: Timothy Kinder, Manassas, Va., five bass, 10-4, $356
7th: Jamie Newton, Falls Church, Va., three bass, 9-13, $278
8th: Andre Wynn, Windsor Mill, Md., five bass, 9-8, $236
8th: Bud Amend, Pleasant Garden, N.C., five bass, 9-8, $386
10th: David DeCiucis, Chester, Va., four bass, 9-7, $195
Peters also caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $205.
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. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. 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.
The 2019 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 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
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, and YouTube.
