Gainesville’s David Nichol won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional tournament on Lake Lanier, which was held over the weekend of October 12th, with a three-day total of 15 bass totaling 47 pounds, 2 ounces.
This regional tournament featured the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Choo Choo, Music City, North Carolina and Savannah River divisions.
The prize? His choice of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard plus a Chevy 1500 Silverado and entry into the BFL All-American.
David Nichol — who previously won the BFL Super Tournament on Clarks Hill — won back-to-back tournaments by targeting big spotted bass feeding on blueback herring.
In David Nichol’s words:
“Like Clarks Hill two weeks ago, the lake is mixing and turning over and it changed daily. It looked like the majority of the field was throwing topwater baits or fishing brush with little worms. But I didn’t pick up a worm in practice because I didn’t think it’d be won on one.
“The key to catching big bags on Lanier is staying keyed in on the herring. The big spots are nomadic and roaming with the herring and stripers. So I just hit a bunch of areas with the right stuff. It’s like playing roulette. It’s a gamble that you’re going to cross paths with them.
“I was fishing deep – 25 to as deep as 45 feet. Just running and gunning. I concentrated on a little bit deeper timber edges.
“I culled several times the first day. The second day it calmed down and got a little tougher. The third day it went slick. I thought my hopes and dreams were slipping away.
I didn’t have a fish at 11 o’clock. It was very stressful. But I caught a keeper at 11, and a short time later I caught one about 3 pounds and pieced it together from there. God was so present. I had a feeling, even though I didn’t want to feel it, that I might do it.”
Nichol continued, “God is great. It’s a phenomenal feeling. It’s so hard to do because all these guys are such good fishermen. It doesn’t happen that often.”
Nichol said he caught most of his fish on a topwater bait, a Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spin, a worm and a jerkbait.
The top six boaters that qualified for the BFL All-American were:
1st: David Nichol, Gainesville, Ga., 15 bass, 47-2, Ranger Z518 with 200-horsepower outboard + Chevy 1500 Silverado
2nd: Rick Steckelberg, Eastanollee, Ga., 15 bass, 41-1, $1,500
3rd: Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., 15 bass, 39-11, $1,100 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
4th: Scott Hayes, Newnan, Ga., 15 bass, 36-11, $1,000
5th: Trent Gober, Pendergrass, Ga., 15 bass, 36-5, $900
6th: Brian Sayre, Charleston, W. Va., 15 bass, 34-12, $800
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
7th: Chad Wood, Resaca, Ga., 14 bass, 33-14, $700
8th: Michael Anders, Pelzer, S.C., 12 bass, 33-13, $650 + Evinrude Bonus: $300
9th: Wade Dodgens, Easley, S.C., 12 bass, 33-0, $600
10th: Jeff Knight, Cleveland, Tenn., 15 bass, 32-9, $550
Bryan Cothran of Belton, S.C., won the co-angler division with a three-day total of 14 bass totaling 26 pounds, 11 ounces. For his efforts, Cothran took home a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard along with a berth in the BFL All-American Championship tournament.
The top six co-anglers that qualified for the BFL All-American were:
1st: Bryan Cothran, Belton, S.C., 14 bass, 26-11, Ranger Z518 with 200-horsepower outboard
2nd: Justin Sward, Birmingham, Ala., 12 bass, 25-2, $750
3rd: Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., 13 bass, 23-4, $550
4th: Ethan Flack, Cullman, Ala., nine bass, 20-5, $500
5th: Ken Wheeler, Martin, Ga., eight bass, 19-14, $450
6th: Josh Driver, Hiram, Ga., 12 bass, 19-8, $400
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
7th: Brian Helderman, Fyffe, Ala., nine bass, 19-8, $350
8th: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., nine bass, 18-15, $325
9th: Jaret Henry, Kingsport, Tenn., seven bass, 17-15, $300
10th: Bill Hawkins, Piedmont, S.C., 10 bass, 16-2, $275
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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 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 Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
