Blaylock blasts’em on Beaver
Berkley co-angler takes third FLW Outdoors win in 8 months
ROGERS, Ark. – Co-angler Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., is as red hot as the color of his Berkley jersey he wears in tournaments.
In the last eight months, he has won a Wal-Mart FLW Series event on Lake Pickwick, the FLW Series East-West Fish-off in Del Rio, Texas, and today he added a prestigious Wal-Mart Open title to his FLW Tour resume.
On the final day of co-angler competition in the open, Blaylock reeled in five fish for 10 pounds, 9 ounces to win the $40,000 Co-angler Division title by more than 3 pounds.
In fact, Blaylock’s catch was the biggest limit weighed in on day three, including the pros’ catches.
Sponsors, if you are looking for young, sharp fishing talent, look no farther than the 20-year-old back-deck fish-catching machine named Stetson Blaylock.
“This is unbelievable,” said Blaylock after his win. “I kept that flipping stick in my hand the whole tournament because I wanted to win – I refused to pick up that shaky head this week.”
Blaylock fished with pros Tommy Martin, Rob Kilby and Sam Newby this week. His main weapons were a ChatterBait and a 5-inch Berkley Flipping Tube in black-neon color.
“I caught some keepers on the ChatterBait, but the Flipping Tube did most of my damage for big fish,” Blaylock said. “I rigged it with a 5/0 Owner Twist-Lock hook and 3/8-ounce Tru-tungsten weight.”
He tied the tube to 20-pound-test Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line and fished it on a 
Fenwick Elite Tech flipping stick.
Blaylock said that Newby fished such thick stuff today that much of the time he had to just hold his lure and wait for a single opportunity to pitch it.
“Whenever we came to an open gap in the bushes where I could make a few pitches, that’s when I caught bass,” he said. “It was all about just being patient and waiting for an opening to pitch to.”
While $40,000 may sound like a lot of money for a 20-year-old, Blaylock said the money is going into savings.
And as far as when the back-deck phenom plans to go pro, Blaylock says he is no big hurry.
“I might try a few Strens as a pro next year and then see about the FLW Series, but as far as fishing the FLW Tour as pro, I’m just going to keep riding the wave as a co-angler.”
Auzenne runner-up
Gregory Auzenne of Panama City, Fla., finished runner-up with three bass weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces worth $10,000.
Auzenne, a production supervisor with the U.S. Airforce, fished with pros Charlie Cummings, Rusty Trancygier and Richard Strother this week.
His success came on spinnerbaits and Carolina rigs to make the finals, but today was all about the ChatterBait, which produced a 4 1/2-pound kicker for his final weight.
Rest of the best
Steven Meador of Bella Vista, Ark., used a shaky head to collect five bass for 6 pounds, 8 ounces today for third place worth $9,000.
Danny Faught of Rogers, Ark., finished fourth with five bass weighing 5 pounds 4 ounces worth $8,000.
Bill Jarvis of Carthage, Miss., rounded out the top five with three bass weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces for $7,000.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake:
6th: Burl Smith of Prairie Grove, Ark., two bass, 3-2, $6,000
7th: Chad Pipkens of Holt, Mich., two bass, 3-0, $5,000
8th: Bryan Talmadge of Pell City, Ala., one bass, 2-6, $4,000
9th: Jared Taliaferro of Rogers, Ark., one bass, 2-5, $3,000
10th: David Lauer of South Bend, Ind., zero bass, $2,000
Day four of the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake will begin Sunday at 6:30 a.m. from Prairie Creek Marina located at 1 Prairie Creek Marina Drive in Rogers, Ark.