Henard Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division on South Holston Reservoir
OutdoorHub 05.12.14
J.R. Henard of Rogersville, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division tournament of 2014 on South Holston Reservoir. For his victory, Henard earned $5,766.
“I started out fishing fast with crankbaits, spinnerbaits and swimbaits,” said Henard, who earned the second BFL win of his career. “Then I picked up a worm and caught two keepers. I went back and forth between the crankbait and a worm. Then the fishing got pretty slow so I just stuck with the worm.
“I mostly fished the pockets in the creeks. I think my biggest one was spawning, but I caught some more that hadn’t pulled up to spawn yet.
“I caught one largemouth, but I culled it out with a bigger smallmouth,” explained Henard. “I weighed in all smallmouth. It rained a little, but it wasn’t terribly bad. It was overcast pretty much all day. I felt like it would be a good day to fish for smallmouth.
“I’m pretty happy,” finished Henard. “I wasn’t really expecting to win this one. The guys that fish up here are so good, just making a top 10 is pretty good for me.”
Henard said that most of his fish came on a Texas-rigged 4-inch Berkley Powerbait Finesse Worm.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Willie Browning, Saltville, Va., five bass, 16-7, $1,883
3rd: Rod Grayson, Bristol, Va., five bass, 16-3, $1,256
4th: Keith Sykes, Clintwood, Va., five bass, 15-15, $879
5th: Doug Austin, Bristol, Va., five bass, 15-9, $753
6th: Jeffrey Mahaffey, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 15-7, $659
6th: Tony Morton, Maryville, Tenn., five bass, 15-7, $659
8th: Charles Ellis, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $533
8th: Jimbo Harris, Maryville, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $533
10th: Jeff Knight, Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 15-0, $439
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Joshua Curtis of Limestone, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win $1,883 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Lester Botts, Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 15-2, $942
3rd: Shaun Ramsey, Maynardville, Tenn., five bass, 13-1, $627
4th: John Swallows, Charleston, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $439
5th: Kelsey Harvey, Jonesborough, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $377
6th: Shawn Bishop, Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $345
7th: Robert Chambers, Elizabethton, Tenn., five bass, 11-15, $314
8th: Dennis Lewis, Powell, Tenn., four bass, 11-1, $282
9th: William Neal, Blountville, Tenn., four bass, 10-15, $251
10th: Matt Dillard, Bristol, Va., three bass, 10-7, $220
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, 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 40 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 presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
