GADSDEN, Ala. (July 20, 2026) – Boater David Wesson of Southside, Alabama, caught a three-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Neely Henry. The tournament was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Wesson earned $4,000 for his victory.
“The areas that I fished were areas where I wasn’t going to get a ton of bites, and I knew that,” Wesson said. “I’m a local, and I knew a handful of areas where I felt like I could get that better-than-average-sized fish, but not a lot of bites.”
Wesson said he focused his efforts during the tournament on two places within five miles of the Coosa Landing takeoff site. In a conservation effort, the tournament limit for each angler was three bass, and Wesson said he thought it would take 14 pounds to win the event.
“I started the day in an area, and the name of the game was to slow down,” Wesson said. “When you thought you were going slow, go slower. I was dragging a plum- or black-colored Zoom Ol’ Monster around. I was fishing edges – edges of grasslines, or any type of edge that gave bigger fish somewhere to set up. And you had to make a perfect cast. I mean, come right down the side of it without getting into the grass or being too far from the grass.”
In addition to dragging a worm, Wesson said he used a Hideup Coike Fullcast Creature Bait during his forward-facing sonar period but caught only one fish during the three-hour period - a 5-11 kicker that boosted his confidence.
“I thought I’d have a pretty good shot at being in the Top 5,” Wesson said. “I’ve fished BFLs for the past six or seven years now, and every year I’ve fished Neely Henry. I’ve had a couple of top 10s and done really bad in some of the other ones. I hadn’t won a BFL on Neely Henry. It’s one of those things that has always kind of snakebit me. I’d be on something decent, but it never worked out for me.
“So, this feels good,” Wesson added. “I’ve been trying for seven years to get that jumping fish (trophy) here on Neely.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: David Wesson, Southside, Ala., three bass, 12-15, $4,000
2nd: Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., three bass, 12-2, $2,800 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
3rd: John Kellett, Springville, Ala., three bass, 11-9, $1,000
4th: Eddie Walker, Pinson, Ala., three bass, 11-7, $800
5th: Keenan Hess, Montgomery, Ala., three bass, 11-0, $700
6th: Austin Shields, Lake View, Ala., three bass, 10-11, $600
7th: Owen Stamm, Morristown, Tenn., three bass, 10-7, $575
8th: Kris Colley, Ragland, Ala., three bass, 10-6, $550
9th: Jack White, Vance, Ala., three bass, 9-13, $525
10th: Lee Black, Moulton, Ala., three bass, 9-10, $500
Jacob Walker of Springville, Alabama, earned the Big Bass Boater award after landing a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $200. Mark Black of Selma, Alabama, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,000 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Black, Selma, Ala., three bass, 8-12, $2,000
2nd: Rodney Graham, Childersburg, Ala., three bass, 8-1, $850
2nd: Johnny Clark, Northport, Ala., three bass, 8-1, $750
4th: Dennis Wynn, Jacksonville, Ala., three bass, 7-14, $400
5th: Phillip Easterling, Clanton, Ala., three bass, 7-10, $350
6th: Jonathan Majors, Chelsea, Ala., three bass, 7-7, $300
7th: Scott Noles, Woodland, Ala., three bass, 7-6, $290
8th: Michael Hester, Ohatchee, Ala., three bass, 7-1, $275
9th: Taylor Ellington, Opelika, Ala., three bass, 6-14, $260
10th: Matthew King, Huntsville, Ala., three bass, 6-12, $250
Rodney Graham of Childersburg, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 15-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, James Willoughby of Gulfport, Mississippi, now leads the 7 Brew Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 938 points, while Rodney Graham of Childersburg, Alabama, leads the Bama Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 962 points.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-neely-henry-72026.html
Bass Fishing League (BFL) News