As day one of the 2009 TBF Southern Division Championship began in Lexington, South Carolina, Lake Murray was scorching hot. For many of the anglers, however, we would be talking about the sun and not the fishing. The top twelve anglers from each state in the Southern Division battled the heat in hopes of bringing in big bass. Some succeeded in that, managing to bring in enough weight to grab hold of the top spots in their respective states.
As always one angler will some how rise above the pack. Taking the number one spot today, is Norman Mullinax from Wilmington, NC who had a limit of bass weighing 15lb 8oz. Also, Norman caught today’s big bass, which weighed 6lbs, using a frog lure. “It was pretty slow today,” Norman said. “We got on them early, and then it got tough real quick. I plan on doing about the same thing tomorrow, using the same spots. But, if they’re not there I’m going to have some problems.” Less than a pound behind him, fighting for tournament lead, is Adam Williamson from Ridgeway, SC who had a total weight of 14lb 3oz, Adam anchored the South Carolina Team to its day 1 overall lead he also plans on trying the same thing tomorrow. “I’ve got a milk run, there were plenty of fish there today, so as long as they don’t leave, you should see some great fish from me this week,” Adam said. He also had great things to say about his partner. “I had a great partner today in Jesse Ivy from Georgia. We had a blast, and lots of laughs.” Landing in third place, is Jay Keith from Camden, SC with a limit of bass weighing 13lb 11oz. Right on his tail is Herman Vining, the President of the South Carolina TBF Federation, our host state for this event. Unlike the others, Herman plans to run more spots tomorrow. “I caught my big bite this morning, but when the sun came out it got tougher,” Herman said. As you can see from the standings there are several South Carolina angers near the top. With the weigh in half over it actually was looking pretty bleak for the host state. However, before the day was finished the home state anglers proved we are on their turf.
The South Carolina state team brought in a total of 49 bass, which weighed 97lb 4oz. their late surge gave them a margin of nearly ten pounds over the second place Alabama Bass Federation, who also caught 49 bass, which weighed 87lb 5oz. The Georgia Bass Federation sits in third with a total weight of 78lb 8oz. Close behind them in fourth is the Tennessee Bass Federation with a total weight of 75lb 1oz.
