“I should have won about three or four of these, but I’ve always managed to mess it up,” said Jones about his first BFL win. “I’ll be 69 this year and it feels good to whup up on the young guys sometimes.

     “I stayed in the north end of the lake and fished deep,” Jones continued. “The fish were in creeks that had some rock in it. Everything I caught was off of rock. They weren’t in the rock, but they were right where it would come out and stop on the bottom. I caught them mostly from 10 to 12 feet deep.

     “I caught almost all of them on a Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Jig. It comes through rocks really well. I fished the same jig all day, and you would have to cast it into the rock and pull it down through to the bottom.

     “The only fish that I didn’t catch on a jig was my big fish, a 7-1,” finished Jones. “It bit a Strike King Burner spinnerbait first thing in the morning.”

     Rounding out the top 10 pros were:

            2nd:   Ronnie Smith, Walton, Ky., five bass, 16-13, $2,214 + $300 Evinrude Bonus

            3rd:   Kenneth McGar, Crofton, Ky., five bass, 16-12, $1,478 + $300 Evinrude Bonus

            4th:   Zach Grounds, Fortville, Ind., five bass, 16-9, $1,033

            5th:   Gerald Andrews, Benton, Ky., five bass, 16-1, $886

            6th:   Ryan Deal, Haubstadt, Ind., five bass, 16-0, $812

            7th:   Jeffery Archie, Paris, Tenn., five bass, 15-14, $738

            8th:   Stuart Eversole, Middletown, Ohio, five bass, 15-13, $664

            9th:   Terry Chastain, Guthrie, Ky., five bass, 15-10, $553

            9th:   Jackson Ryley, Clinton, Ind., five bass, 15-10, $553

     Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

     Stan Evans of Newburgh, Ind., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $2,214 in the co-angler division.

     Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:

            2nd:   Kenneth McGar Jr., Crofton, Ky., five bass, 14-11, $1,107

            3rd:   Aaron Connor, Murphysboro, Ill., four bass, 14-10, $738

            4th:   Jody Girten, Morganfield, Ky., three bass, 13-2, $517

            5th:   Bryan Drury, Lexington, Ky., four bass, 12-15, $443

            6th:   Steven Blakely, Shepherdsville, Ky., five bass, 12-12, $406

            7th:   Jerry Wittmer, Louisville, Ky., four bass, 12-6, $369

            8th:   Erich Butler, Spring Hill, Tenn., three bass, 12-3, $313

            8th:   Michael Emberton, Tompkinsville, Ky., four bass, 12-3, $313

            10th: Kane Hackemack, New Albany, Ind., four bass, 11-15, $258

     The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn. 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.