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Chris Quaintance of Muscle Shoals, Ala., won the Feb. 15 Mississippi Division event on a tough Pickwick Lake with three fish weighing 13 pounds, 10 ounces. For his efforts, Quaintance took home a check worth $3,879.
IUKA– Chris Quaintance of Muscle Shoals, Alabama , weighed a three-bass totaling 13 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division tournament of 2014 on Pickwick Lake. For his victory, Quaintance earned $3,879.
Quaintance took home his first BFL win on the back of three big fish in a shockingly slow event where nobody weighed in a five-bass limit.
“It was a really tough event,” said Quaintance. “I’ve been fishing there every winter for years and have never seen it like that. I think it was the cold, but I don’t know. We had been catching them well up until Saturday. It was crazy.”
Quaintance said that he fished a shallow main-channel ledge with some stumps and current and caught his three keepers and one non-keeper on a lipless crankbait.
“I told my co-angler that I might get into the check cut with what I had because I had three big ones. But in the winter it takes a lot to win on Pickwick; I never in my life would have thought I’d win on those three fish.
“I don’t know what to think,” finished Quaintance. “I’m still in the clouds, I’m blessed and thanking the Lord.”
Co-angler Collin Bruce of Florence, Ala., won the Feb. 15 Mississippi Division event on Pickwick Lake with three bass weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces. He walked away with $1,940 for his efforts.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Jeff Johnston, Marion, Ark., four bass, 12-13, $1,940
3rd: Raymond Owen, Iuka, Miss., two bass, 10-8, $1,293
4th: Tim Fox, Meridian, Miss., four bass, 10-3, $905 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
5th: Adam Shirley, Meridian, Miss., two bass, 9-8, $776
6th: Darrell Moon, Corinth, Miss., three bass, 9-3, $711
7th: Buzz Gallo, Moselle, Miss., three bass, 7-10, $647
8th: Chad Mayfield, Brandon, Miss., two bass, 5-14, $582
9th: Philip Atkins, Columbus, Miss., two bass, 4-05, $517
10th: Raymond Goodwin, Independence, La., two bass, 3-15, $453
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Collin Bruce of Florence, Ala., weighed in three bass totaling 11 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win $1,940 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Sank Payton, Bay Springs, Miss., one bass, 5-15, $970
3rd: Lynn Watts, Pelahatchie, Miss., one bass, 5-6, $646
4th: Jesse Steadham, Florence, Miss., two bass, 5-4, $453
5th: Tim Davis, Laurel, Miss., two bass, 4-11, $388
6th: Jason Mitchell, Hamilton, Miss., one bass, 4-4, $356
7th: Ryan Lecompte, Picayune, Miss., one bass, 4-1, $323
8th: Chandler Roman, New Albany, Miss., one bass, 3-15, $291
9th: Larry Stewart Jr., Clinton, Miss., one bass, 3-9, $259
10th: Dustin Jones, Greenwood, Miss., one bass, 3-6, $226
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 16-18 Regional Championship on the Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper, Texas. 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. The 2014 BFL All-American is being held June 5-7 on Wilson Lake in Florence, Ala. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
MEDIA RELEASE/FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE/JODY WHITE COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
