Tournament Insider: Terry Bolton Wins First FLW Event at Sam Rayburn
FLW Veteran Terry Bolton Credits One-Boat Network from Humminbird and Minn Kota for First Tour Win on Sam Rayburn.
FLW pro angler Terry Bolton kicked off the 2019 pro bass fishing season right by sealing his first professional tour victory on Sam Rayburn. The 24-year pro reeled in 91-pounds, 3-ounces over the course of four days relying heavily on the combined capabilities of his Humminbird® HELIX® and Minn Kota® Ultrex™, core parts of the One-Boat Network.
Bolton credits two big decisions in his win, both stemming from what he saw on his Humminbird HELIX G3 during the practice period. With just a couple hours left on the last day of practice, Bolton was running Down Imaging® on his Humminbird when something caught his eye.
“I found tall grass in 17-feet of water that went up to about 6-feet of the surface,” Bolton said. “Cruising around the contour visible on my LakeMaster® map, I found a drain that made a wall in the grass, and dropped a waypoint. I knew I found something special; I just didn’t realize how special it was until the tournament began.”
Over the first two days of the tournament, Bolton caught more than 54 pounds of bass on just that one spot.
“Every cast, I was catching a fish,” he said. “Without Spot-Lock on my Minn Kota Ultrex, I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. It made it so easy to cast, land and go to the live well without my boat drifting from the hot spot. It was incredible.”
After a 33-9 stringer on day two and a steady day three, Bolton knew he was going to need more to get the win heading into the final day. With another crucial decision on his hands, he turned back to his LakeMaster map to try and find a school of fish he marked during practice days earlier.
“I hadn’t seen the school all week and had no idea how big they were, but I was running around all day and wasn’t catching anything,” he said. “By following the 12 to 14-foot contour on my LakeMaster Map, I was able to track them down and lo and behold they were good ones.”
Bolton found a 4 1/2-pounder and a couple 3-pounders in that spot, which was enough to lock up the first professional tour win in his 24-year career. Quite a turnaround considering Bolton almost walked away from the sport just a few months earlier.
After a rough 2018 season, in which he admits he didn’t give his best effort, Bolton said he was leaning 60-40 in favor of retirement. After deciding to give it another go around, Bolton had one goal heading into this season, to give his best effort and just have fun fishing.
“This is obviously a very special victory for me, and I have to say, it was well worth the wait,” Bolton said. “No question, I wouldn’t have been able to get this win without the One-Boat Network and my Humminbird HELIX and Minn Kota Ultrex. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store.”