Burns Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division Event on Lake Murray
OutdoorHub 07.14.14
Ross Burns of Columbia, S.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament of 2014 on Lake Murray. For his victory, Burns earned $2,741.
“I threw a topwater bait all day,” said Burns, who considers Murray to be his home lake. “I had three rods on deck, two of them were topwater baits and one of them was a fluke.”
Burns said that he fished two key points throughout the day. He said he would start on the end of the point in 60 to 70 feet of water and work toward the bank.
“In practice I checked every point I know of and I only found two that they were schooling on,” Burns explained. “It was random. They wouldn’t just come up in one place. That’s why I started so far from the bank. I just worked in and would go over to the school when they started coming up to hit bait. I caught probably 30 bass, but I probably lost 15 more.
“I’ve been close to winning before, but never quite done it in the past,” Burns went on to say. “Something would always go wrong. This time, whenever something went wrong something would go right just after it. I didn’t think I was going to win, but I’m happy it finally happened.”
Burns said that he caught most of his fish on Lake Murray Clear-colored Lucky Craft Sammy, size 85 and 100.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Norm Attaway, Clearwater, S.C., five bass, 14-12, $1,370
3rd: Michael Murphy, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 13-12, $914 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
4th: Mitch Avant, Johnsonville, S.C., five bass, 13-2, $639
5th: Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., five bass, 12-11, $548
6th: Greg Willimon, Pickens, S.C., three bass, 12-1, $502
7th: Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 11-12, $457
8th: Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., three bass, 11-1, $411 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
9th: Anthony Colacurcio, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 9-11, $365
10th: Eddie Herlong Sr., Prosperity, S.C., three bass, 9-8, $320
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Lee Inman of Inman, S.C., weighed in two bass totaling 10 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win $1,370 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Shelton Yonce, Leesville, S.C., four bass, 9-13, $685
3rd: Ryan Shoaf, Rock Hill, S.C., three bass, 6-7, $457
4th: George Lloyd, Heath Springs, S.C., two bass, 5-13, $320
5th: Terry Carteret, Charlotte, N.C., two bass, 5-11, $274
6th: Nick Ireland, Columbia, S.C., one bass, 5-7, $251
7th: Bill Hawkins, Piedmont, S.C., two bass, 5-4, $228
8th: Tyler Moore, Walterboro, S.C., two bass, 5-0, $194
8th: Clyde Whiteside, Forest City, N.C., two bass, 5-0, $194
10th: Lonnie Drusch, Sumter, S.C., two bass, 4-4, $160
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Va. 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.
