Childers scores a victory on Lake Keowee

SENECA, S.C. – Randy A. Childers won the Boater Division in the American Bass Anglers Open Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, South Carolina Division 9 tournament, held February 18, 2023, at Lake Keowee.

Launching at South Cove Landing in Seneca, the angler from Townville, S.C. brought in a 5-bass tournament limit for 15.86 pounds. That gave him a 3.17-pound average. He upped his average by landing the tournament lunker, a 4.48-pounder. 

“We started on deep docks first thing in the morning,” Childers revealed. “We fished docks all day long. As the sun got higher, we started going shallower. That’s where we caught our better bass. We caught fish on a variety of baits including worms, Senkos and jigs. Jigs played a big role.”

In second among the boaters, Bo Price of the hosting town of Seneca also landed his 5-bass limit. He finished with 13.83 pounds. 

“I caught about 25 fish total,” Price recalled. “I stayed deep all day, about 45 to 60 feet. I threw a football jig with a twin-tailed trailer. In the morning, I had a good deep bite window and caught a limit early. Then, I hit a lull from about 9 a.m. to noon. It picked back up in the afternoon. The bite caught on fire at about 1 p.m. I culled some of the early fish I caught.”

Taking the third spot for the boaters, Gregory Glouse from Liberty, S.C. put five keepers on the scale. His bag weighed 13.18 pounds with a 2.73-pound kicker.

“I caught a good many fish on a jig,” Glouse said. “The jig has a shrimp-type head with a pork-style trailer on the back. I also caught some on a Spots Sticker Bait, a football jig and a swimbait. We fished from 15 to 40 feet deep. I culled about eight times.”

In fourth for the boaters, Charles D. Townson from Seneca brought in a 5-bass limit going 13.04 pounds. Rounding out the top five boaters, Tracy B. Watkins of Belton, S.C. caught a limit for 11.06 pounds,.

In the Co-Angler Division, Shane S. Swann of Weaverville, N.C. landed a 3-bass division limit for 7.51 pounds. Fishing with Childers, Swann topped that catch with a 2.63-pound kicker.

“I was dragging a shaky head around,” Swann commented. “I caught five bass.”
Jacob G. Yaden from Evans, Ga. took second among the co-anglers with his three bass at 6.55 pounds. One of them weighed 2.72 pounds. 

“My boater put me on fish,” Yaden acknowledged. “I caught most of my fish on a shaky head or a drop-shot-rig. I caught seven keepers, but my first three were the fish I weighed.”

Landing in third for the co-anglers, R. J. Mitchell of Appling, Ga. found three good keepers for 6.12 pounds including a 2.66-pound kicker. 

“I caught my fish on a shaky head and a small swimbait,” Mitchell said. “We fished from the shallows out to about 60 feet of water. I caught four fish before 10:30 a.m.”

Marvin R. Godard from Charlotte, N.C. caught a 3-bass limit going 5.98 pounds. He anchored that catch with a 2.79-pounder that took the division big bass title.

“The big fish hit a shaky head,” Godard detailed. “I caught all of my fish on a shaky head.”

Chris Nix from Liberty, S.C. finished fifth among the co-anglers. He landed three bass weighing 5.96 pounds with a 2.66-pound kicker.

The division next heads to Lake Hartwell on March 11, 2023. That tournament will run out of Green Pond Landing, located at 470 Green Pond Road in Anderson, S.C. 

For more information about this tournament, call Tournament Director Rodney Michael at (256) 497-0967.

American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, T-H Marine, Power Pole, RT Outdoors, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com and LurePartsOnline.com.

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler and, at the same time, offering each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression.

For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour, the American Couples Series, the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, and the Top 150 Solo Tour, all presented by Caymas Boats, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406.

This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.