Ronnie McCoy of Lamar, S.C. caught a 26-02 stringer on Saturday to win the Santee Cooper Southeastern FLW Series in his home state with a three-day total of 73-08. It was his second bag of the event that exceeded 26 pounds.
His $93,500 prize package included a new Ranger boat.
“I fished clean this week, from up in the swamp all the way down to the dam. It was fantastic,” said McCoy, who earned his first career win in FLW Series competition. “I started each morning of the event targeting the shad spawn above the I-95 bridge and would catch a limit weighing around 15 to 18 pounds. From there, I’d fish all day to try and upgrade.”
McCoy said he used a homemade 1/2--ounce white double willow-leaf spinnerbait with a white Black Flagg Slikk Shadd trailer and a white Z-Man/Evergreen Jack Hammer ChatterBait with the same Slikk Shadd trailer to target bass feeding on shad near cypress trees.
Following the morning bite on Thursday, McCoy said he went sight-fishing and ended up catching the largest bass of the tournament.
“I put a 9-pound, 9-ouncer and a 7-pounder in the boat from the same bed in Potato Creek using a Texas-rigged green-pumpkin-colored (Zoom) Road Kill with a 1/2-ounce tungsten weight,” said McCoy. “I also caught some good ones in Wyboo Creek, but those two big ones were the most important.”
On Friday, McCoy followed the same schedule but was only able to catch two small fish from beds. On Saturday, McCoy abandoned sight-fishing altogether and stayed above I-95, fishing the cypress trees to finish out the tournament.
“I was really fortunate to get those two for nearly 18 pounds on Thursday – they anchored my catch this week. I’m just really blessed.”
1. Ronnie McCoy: 73-08
2. Daniel Howell: 67-13
3. Jonathan Canada: 65-02
4. Joey Sabbagha: 63-14
5. Robert Crosnoe: 60-12
6. Bryan Thrift: 58-08
7. Kent Ware: 57-01
8. Mark Hutson: 56-10
9. Buddy Gross: 54-09
10. Lex Costas: 49-10
