Flowery Branch’s Roger Vinson won the T-H Marine BFL Bulldog Super Tournament at Lake Lanier yesterday. His son Peyton fished his first BFL and finished in the Top 10 on the co-angler side.
It was a great weekend in the Vinson household. Dad Roger won an incredibly tough two-day T-H Marine BFL Bulldog Super Tournament on Lanier and son Peyton finished seventh as a co-angler in his first BFL event ever.
Roger put together a two-day total of 28-11, including a big second day of 15-6, the largest bag of the tournament. With a kicker spot weighing nearly five pounds, Roger beat second place finisher (and first day leader) Rob Jordan by nearly three pounds.
At around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, when Vinson hooked up with that 4.75 pound spot in the pouring rain, his confidence grew. “When I caught that fish, I felt like it gave me a shot at winning. I thought I would need at least 17 pounds to win.”
The Flowery Branch resident, who has finished second in four BFL events, finally got the win by fishing “shallow and deep, running from the mid-lake down, hitting 15-20 places over the course of two days.” Roger said he was fishing “…a fluke, a jig-head worm and a jig.” Roger picked up $6,891 for his victory. “I was pretty nervous at the weigh-in. I thought Rob [Jordan] and Brad [Wiley] had caught them.”
Waycross angler Justin Bythwood took home first place on the co-angler side with 16+ pounds over two days (courtesy flwfishing.com).
Roger is a former points champion in the Savannah River Division BFL, but says “…it’s a good feeling to finally win. It was also very special that Peyton was there on Sunday.” The younger Vinson, in his BFL debut, caught 10-3 pounds over two days, finishing 7th on the co-angler side and winning $548. Winning on the co-angler side was Justin Bythwood of Waycross, with 16-5 (a great two-day catch from the back deck given what some were saying was Lanier’s toughest fall bite in years).
Peyton Vinson will be fishing for the University of North Georgia this year as a collegiate angler, after winning the Georgia High School championship two years ago as a high school Big Stick at Flowery Branch.
We asked Roger if this made him think about moving to the Costa Series, the next step up the professional ladder, but he said he’s going to stick with the BFL’s. “I really thought about it back in 2007 when Tim Farley won the FLW Series event on Lanier,” said Roger. “I just don’t have that desire at this point in my life. I’ve got more of a desire to support Peyton in his fishing and also in supporting my daughter Katelyn in her interests.”
Two weeks ago, we profiled Georgia Big Stick Roger Vinson and his son Peyton, which you can find by clicking here.
Congrats to Roger, Peyton, Rob, and Justin for a great weekend of fishing under difficult conditions.
A Vinson Weekend: Dad Roger won the BFL Super Tournament and son Peyton finished seventh in his first BFL event. Daughter Katelyn, also a great angler, was there to cheer them on.
Georgia Big Stick Roger Vinson with a 4.75 pound spotted bass that helped him win the T-H Marine BFL Super Tournament on Lanier yesterday.