CHAPEL HILL’S JOYCE WINS FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE CHOO CHOO DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

Hand wins co-angler title

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (May 2, 2016) – Clayton Joyce of Chapel Hill, Tennessee, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 29 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Choo Choo Division tournament on Lake Guntersville presented by Navionics. For his victory, Joyce took home $4,359.

“I’ve never caught that kind of weight on this lake,” said Joyce, who earned his first win in BFL competition. “I’ve had several 20-pound limits out there, but nothing like this.

“I caught 6-pounder within the first 15 minutes,” continued Joyce. “I caught a 4-pounder and three smaller ones before the bite died. I really needed the wind to blow, but it was a calm day.”

Joyce said he targeted two stumps on the end of a creek point between Waterfront Bay and Goose Pond. He said he caught his fish throwing a Carolina-rigged, pumpkin-colored stick bait.

“After three hours, the wind picked up and I was able to catch more bass and cull,” said Joyce. “I worked the stumps from all angles to try and dial in on where they were setting up. If I could get the bait hung up under the stump, I’d yank it out, stop it and that would trigger a bite.”

Joyce finished by saying that he caught his largest fish with only minutes to spare.

“It was one of those special days of fishing that I’ll remember for a long time,” said Joyce.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Clayton Joyce, Chapel Hill, Tenn., five bass, 29-2, $4,359

2^nd:         Freddy Palmer, Estill Springs, Tenn., five bass, 23-8, $2,179

3^rd:          Jim Leary, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 21-15, $1,452

4^th:          Cameron Gautney, Muscle Shoals, Ala., five bass, 20-6, $1,017

5^th:          Blake Hall, Hartselle, Ala., five bass, 19-3, $872

6^th:          Josh Butler, Athens, Ala., five bass, 18-15, $1,099

7^th:          Wayne Christopher, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 18-11, $726

8^th:          Eric Foister, Clarksville, Tenn., five bass, 18-10, $1,242

8^th:          Brad Harmon, Ringgold, Ga., five bass, 18-10, $617

10^th:        Tim Hurst, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 17-0, $483

10^th:        Joe Thompson, Grant, Ala., five bass, 17-0, $483

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Foister caught a 9-pound, 1-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $625.

Nathan Hand of Madison, Alabama, weighed in five bass totaling 16 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,179.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Nathan Hand, Madison, Ala., five bass, 16-1, $2,179

2^nd:         Michael Corbett, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 16-0, $1,090

3^rd:          Jacob Feltman, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 15-2, $725

4^th:          Rodney Bolte, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 15-0, $509

5^th:          Daniel Crockett, Old Hickory, Tenn., five bass, 13-9, $436

6^th:          Ron Lee, Lilburn, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $400

7^th:          Trent Wright, Scottsboro, Ala., five bass, 12-15, $363

8^th:          Tom Pearson, Scottsboro, Ala., five bass, 12-7, $327

9^th:          Wayne Kilgore, Attalla, Ala., five bass, 12-2, $291

10^th:        Robert Barnett, Flintstone, Ga., four bass, 11-15, $254

Daniel Davis of Albertville, Alabama, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $312.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, 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 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.