(Feb. 26, 2013 - GAINESVILLE, GA.)... David Lowery of Milledgeville, Ga., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division event on Lake Lanier. For his victory, Lowery earned $4,981.
"All day I thought that I needed one bigger largemouth to push me over the top," said Lowery. "When I brought my bag to the scales I didn’t think I had enough to win. I fish Lake Lanier three to four times throughout the year and generally in February it takes somewhere between 19 and 20 pounds to win.
"I had a really good practice on Thursday, but because of the brutal weather on Friday, I didn’t even go out," Lowery continued. "On the tournament day I flipped a brown All-Terrain jig all day around boat docks in the mid-lake area. The water temperature was high 40s, and the fish were caught close to spawning areas. The largemouth came out of water shallower than 10 feet and the spotted bass came out of water a little deeper around 15 to 16 feet.
"The key to my pattern was finding the boat docks with the black floating sections underneath," Lowery went on to say. "Even though it was cloudy and cold, I found that the black sections helped warm the water up a little more when the sun came out. This attracted the bigger fish and I caught them as they suspended underneath."
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
| 2nd: | Bo Talley | Columbus, Ga. | five bass | 16-11 | $2,490 |
| 3rd: | Mark Holloway | Madison, Ga. | five bass | 16-6 | $1,662 |
| 4th: | Jimmy Trotter | Gainesville, Ga. | five bass | 15-10 | $1,162 |
| 5th: | Kim Carver | Milledgeville, Ga. | five bass | 15-6 | $996 + Evinrude Bonus: $300 |
| 6th: | Greg Glouse | Liberty, S.C. | five bass | 14-14 | $913 |
| 7th: | Lee Boyd | Fortson, Ga. | five bass | 14-13 | $788 |
| 7th: | Matt Green | Cartersville, Ga. | four bass | 14-13 | $788 |
| 9th: | Nick Hensley | Cumming, Ga. | five bass | 14-12 | $664 |
| 10th: | Michael Welch | Douglasville, Ga. | five bass | 14-10 | $581 |
Mic Miller of Buena Vista, Ga., and Jerry Seabolt of Murrayville, Ga., both weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to tie for first and win $1,867 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
| 3rd: | Jesse Dellinger | Bogart, Ga. | five bass | 13-10 | $829 |
| 4th: | Michael Cragg | Alto, Ga. | four bass | 13-0 | $581 |
| 5th: | Gwyn Cantrell | Cleveland, Ga. | five bass | 12-11 | $498 |
| 6th: | Zachary Dixon | Kingston, Ga. | five bass | 12-0 | $457 |
| 7th: | Tyler Morgan | Columbus, Ga. | three bass | 11-15 | $394 |
| 7th: | Brandon Truelove | Gainesville, Ga. | five bass | 11-15 | $394 |
| 9th: | Justin Nunley, Acworth | Ga. | five bass | 11-12 | $332 |
| 10th: | Jason Williams | Winder, Ga. | five bass | , 11-6 | $291 |
The next BFL Bulldog Division tournament is scheduled for March 16 on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Ga. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Lavonia, Ga. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 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. The 2013 BFL All-American is being held June 27-29 on the Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tenn. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy - the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the "Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water." For more information about FLW visit the FLWOutdoors website and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.
