Davenport strikes fast for Neely Henry victory

ATHENS, Ala. – Brian Davenport landed his fish early to win the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series, operated by American Bass Anglers, Alabama North Division 1 tournament, held May 12, 2012, on Lake Neely Henry.

Running out of Coosa Landing near Gadsden, the Attalla, Ala., angler caught five bass weighing 18.71 pounds with a 4.19-pound kicker. For the Boater Division victory, Davenport took home a check for $3,089.

“I caught some on a white buzzbait and some on a shad-colored crankbait,” Davenport revealed. “We fished flats on the main river and had a limit in 20 minutes.”

In second for the 82 boaters, Kenny Pannell of Springville, Ala., brought in a five-bass tournament limit weighing 17.92 pounds. He anchored his catch with a 4.67-pounder to pocket a check for $1,544.

“I threw a swim jig early in the morning,” Pannell explained. “The fish were in about three to five feet of water. The fish were in grass early and then moved to laydown logs.”

Jeremy Renfroe of Birmingham, Ala., took third among the boaters with five bass at 16.09 pounds. His biggest fish weighed 4.03 pounds. Renfroe pocketed $1,030.

“I fished shallow cover,” Renfroe said. “They were mostly in grass and around shallow docks. I caught most of my fish on a black and blue swim jig. The fish bit pretty well until about 8:30 a.m. and then picked back up around 12:30 p.m.”

Wes Ward of Danville, Ala., finished fourth among the boaters with five bass going 15.30 pounds. Bradley Jones of Aragon, Ga., followed with a five-bass limit for 14.37 pounds. James E. Bean of Weaver, Ala., finished in sixth place among the boaters with five bass weighing 14.26 pounds, but capped his catch with a 5.51-pounder that took tournament lunker honors.

In the Co-Angler Division, Chad Cox of Crossville, Ala., landed three bass going 9.28 pounds for the win. He topped his catch with a 3.70-pounder to take home $1,568.

“I had to mix it up,” Cox said. “I caught some topwaters and some on swimbaits. I also caught some on watermelon seed plastics and white spinnerbaits. I had to work all day to catch a limit.”

Tim D. Watkins of Trussvile, Ala., brought in a three-bass co-angler limit for 9.21 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 4.28-pounder to win the division big bass title. For second place, he earned $784 with an extra $199 for the bucketmouth.

“I caught fish on a lot of different lures,” Watkins explained. “I caught one on a spinnerbait and one on a baby brush hog. The big fish came on a shaky head. It was just blind luck. I must have hit her on the head. I caught six fish.”

Wes Logan, a 17-year-old angler from Springville, Ala., did well in his first bass BWS tournament. He landed a three-bass limit weighing 8.87 pounds to take home a third-place check worth $522.

“We went down the river,” Logan said. “I caught fish on a swim jig around shallow grass in about three feet of water on the main river channel. I caught about 10 fish and culled three times.

Randy Hobbs of Dawson, Ala., placed fourth among the co-anglers with three bass and 7.67 pounds. Right behind him, Greg C. Brown of Morris, Ala., landed three bass going 7.66 pounds to wrap up the top five co-anglers.

For more information on this tournament, call Randy Sullivan at (256) 230-5633 or ABA at (888) 203-6222. On line, see www.americanbassanglers.com.

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