Daniel Island man wins S.C. division tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes

SUMMERTON - Boater Lex Costas of Daniel Island brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 30 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes. For his catch, Costas earned $2,993.

"I started out on the lower end of Lake Marion in the Crappie Neck area using a 1/2-ounce white jig," said Costas, who earned his second career win on Santee Cooper Lakes in BFL competition. "I was fishing underwater points in 10 to 14 feet of water and caught four fish from my first two stops."

After he caught four, Costas said he moved on to Lake Moultrie to fish Angel's Creek, and used a Texas-rigged, green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Z Craw to catch another seven keepers.

"I culled three times throwing at stumps and brush in 6 to 8 of water," Costas said. "I worked both sides of the creek and probably fished 20 places."

Costas weighed three fish from the Z Craw and two from the jig - all largemouth.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

- 1st: Lex Costas, Daniel Island, five bass, 30-12, $2,993;

- 2nd: Steve Thornhill, Pineville, four bass, 25-10, $1,807;

- 3rd: Ken Ellis, Bowman, five bass, 22-14, $931;

- 4th: Casey Warren, Galivants Ferry, five bass, 22-12, $652;

- 5th: Brandt Tumberg, Moore, four bass, 21-4, $559;

- 6th: Chuck Howard, Elloree, five bass, 19-13, $1,062;

- 7th: Robert Clarke III, Pineville, five bass, 19-8, $616;

- 8th: Kyle Austin, Ridgeville, five bass, 17-9, $419;

- 9th: Ron Brown, Cross, five bass, 16-15, $372;

- 10th: Wade Grooms, Bonneau, five bass, 16-12, $326;

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Thornhill caught a 7-pound, 15-ounce bass - the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division - and earned the day's Boater Big Bass award of $310.

Steve Crowley of Inverness, Florida, won the Co-angler Division and $1,397 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

- 1st: Steve Crowley, Inverness, Florida, three bass, 13-8, $1,397;

- 2nd: Ronald Bryant, Batesburg, two bass, 12-11, $698;

- 3rd: Josh Goedel, Boiling Springs, two bass, 11-8, $465;

- 4th: Casey Griffith, Guyton, Georgia, one bass, 10-2, $481;

- 5th: Bobby McDonald, Easley, two bass, 6-9, $479;

- 6th: Ronald Harris, Jefferson, Georgia, one bass, 6-7, $306;

- 7th: Kate Hough, Gilbert, two bass, 6-5, $383;

- 8th: Mike Sather, Beech Island, one bass, 6-4, $210;

- 9th: Matthew Dangerfield, Summerville, two bass, 5-7, $186; and

- 10th: Darvin Cannon, Columbia, one bass, 5-5, $163.

Griffith caught the biggest bass in the Co-angler Division, a big largemouth weighing in at 10 pounds, 2 ounces. The fish earned him the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $155.

The tournament was hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.