Easley man wins Fishing League Worldwide Bass division opener on Lake Keowee

Seneca, S.C. (FOX Carolina) -- Boater Joe Anders of Easley, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River division event on Lake Keowee presented by Navionics. Anders earned $4,164 for his efforts.

“I caught the majority of my fish in the mid-lake area, feeding on shad,” said Anders, who also had a tournament win as a co-angler at the FLW Tour at Lake Lanier last season.

”I’ve fished Keowee as much as anybody, and this year the water never got as cold as it usually does. So the fish weren’t deep, they were already in more of a prespawn mode. Feeding on shad instead of the crawfish like normal.”

Anders said that most of his fish came on an EverGreen JT 95 topwater bait in his mid-lake areas, but he also caught a couple of key fish skipping docks in 40 feet-of-water with a bait fish-colored Zoom Swimmin’ Super Fluke Jr. along with a late-day keeper on a drop-shot rig.

“I only caught around 10 keepers, and I really struggled the last 3 to 4 hours of the tournament,” Ander said. “I caught my last one late in the day drop-shotting a 6-inch, straight-tail Roboworm, 35-feet-deep, and was able to cull up 4 ounces. I ended up winning by 3 ounces, so that fish was the difference maker.

“The key for me was not fishing history, and sticking to the pattern that I figured out in practice,” Anders went on to say.

“They were not anywhere that I normally catch them on this time of year. I’m also fishing well and still rolling from the momentum of my co-angler win at the FLW Tour event last March at Lake Lanier. I’ve got a great support group around me and I’m in a really great place in my life. I can’t wait to get back out there.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

              1^st:          Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 14-11, $4,164

              2^nd:         Shane Peck, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 14-8, $1,857

              3^rd:         Jerry Morgan, Inman, S.C., five bass, 14-2, $1,172

              4^th:         Ronnie Wald, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 14-1, $820

              5^th:         Vince Smith, Westminster, S.C., five bass, 13-6, $703

              6^th:         Edwin Pabon, Toccoa, Ga., five bass, 12-14, $644

              7^th:         Michael Mengeling, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 12-12, $586

              8^th:         Todd Goade, Suwanee, Ga., five bass, 12-9, $798

              9^th:         Marcus Church, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 12-9, $498

              10^th:       Mark Gibson, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 12-7, $410

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Anders’ big fish of the day was a 6-pound, 3-ounce largemouth bass, which also was the tournament’s biggest bass of the day and earned Anders the Boater Big Bass award of $450.