Alabama Rookie Boutries Grabs Lead at FLW Tour at Grand Lake
Category: press release
Mar 29th, 2019 by fishing fanatics
Modified Mar 29th, 2019 at 7:32 PM
Rookie pro Bailey Boutries of Daphne, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces, to take the lead after Day Two of the FLW Tour at Grand Lake presented by Mercury Marine. Boutries’ two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 4 ounces gives him a slim 4-ounce advantage heading into Day Three of the four-day competition that features 165 of the world’s best bass-fishing anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
The 2016 FLW Cup Champion John Cox of DeBary, Florida, sits in second place, just 4 ounces behind Boutries with 35-0. Pro Bradley Hallman of Norman leads the Okie contingent with 31-12, good for ninth place, while Grove’s Sheldon Collings sits in 21st place with 24-12. Legendary pro Jimmy Houston of Cookson also made the top-30 cut and will start Day Three in 22nd place with 24-12. The field is now cut to 30 for Saturday’s competition with only the top 10 anglers advancing to championship Sunday.
Boutries said he caught 11 keepers throughout the day Friday, doing the majority of his damage with a War Eagle spinnerbait thrown on a 7-2 medium-heavy Profishiency rod, with a 6.5:1 Ardent reel spooled with 17-pound P-Line Tactical fluorocarbon.
“I caught a good one yesterday (Thursday) on the spinnerbait, but the rest of my limit came dragging a Texas-rigged creature bait. Today, all of my fish that I caught came on the spinnerbait,” said Boutries, who is fishing in his fourth career FLW Tour event. “That storm today really helped. When it started raining and got really windy, they really bit. The wind was a huge factor for me.
“I probably hit 10 different spots,” Boutries continued. “I was doing the same thing and it seemed that they like to be in a certain combination of rock.”
Saturday’s weather forecast calls for more rain and a drop in temperatures, but Boutries is confident that his fish will withstand the changing condition.
“I’m not even worried about the money, I just love fishing and I love being out here and competing against the best,” Boutries said. “I’m competing against Scott Martin, David Dudley, Bryan Thrift. And I’m leading the tournament. It’s so exciting.
“I don’t want to say that I’m going to really catch them again tomorrow, but I’m confident that I can go back out and catch five,” Boutries went on to say.
The top 30 pros that made the cut and will fish Saturday on Grand Lake are:
1st: Bailey Boutries, Daphne, Ala., 10 bass, 35-4
2nd: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 35-0
3rd: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., 10 bass, 34-15
4th: Jamie Horton, Centerville, Ala., 10 bass, 32-14
5th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 32-14
6th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., eight bass, 32-11
7th: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, eight bass, 32-7
8th: Billy McCaghren, Mayflower, Ark., 10 bass, 32-2
9th: Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., 10 bass, 31-12
10th: Terry Bolton, Benton, Ky., 10 bass, 31-8
11th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 31-5
12th: Braxton Setzer, Montgomery, Ala., nine bass, 29-13
13th: Michael Matthee, Centurion, GP, South Aftrica, eight bass, 29-0
14th: Miles Burghoff, Hixson, Tenn., eight bass, 28-14
15th: Larry Nixon, Quitman, Ark., 10 bass, 28-11
16th: Joel Willert, Prior Lake, Minn., eight bass, 27-12
17th: Costa pro Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, eight bass, 27-6
18th: Ron Farrow, Rock Hill, S.C., eight bass, 26-15
19th: Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., seven bass, 26-10
20th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., nine bass, 26-5
21st: Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 24-12
22nd: Jimmy Houston, Cookson, Okla., eight bass, 24-12
23rd: Tyler Stewart, West Monroe, La., seven bass, 24-10
24th: Lendell Martin Jr., Nacogdoches, Texas, eight bass, 24-8
25th: David Wootton, Collierville, Tenn., nine bass, 24-6
26th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., nine bass, 24-4
27th: Josh Douglas, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 23-13
28th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., eight bass, 23-11
29th: Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, nine bass, 23-1
30th: Ryan Chandler, Hebron, Ind., 10 bass, 22-14
Full results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.