Beaver Lake bash brothers
Co-angler Blaylock wins Walmart FLW Tour event in wire-to-wire fashion
ROGERS, Ark. – Three years after his brother Stetson won the Walmart Open on Beaver Lake, younger brother Keeton matched the impressive feat on the exact same body of water. Ironically, both Blaylocks claimed their first Tour win from the back of the boat at the age of 20. But Keeton claimed victory in wire-to-wire fashion while Stetson used a final-day rally.
The joke after Friday’s weigh-in was that Keeton could sleep in and still win the tournament without ever making a cast on the final day. As it turned out, that was exactly the case as the Benton, Ark., 
native failed to catch a keeper bass, but still won by over 5 pounds. While the jerkbait bite was strong for a select few pros Saturday, it was brutal for the co-anglers.
That was more than OK for the younger Blaylock, who broke off the one bite he received on the final day.
“After not catching a fish, I really didn’t think I was going to win this tournament,” he said. “I thought I had blown it. It’s amazing.”
Blaylock practiced primarily up the river in dirty water. But then his pro partners chose to fish the clear water in the midlake region. To adjust, Blaylock tied on a little swimbait in silver-perch color and rigged it on a 1/4-ounce jighead. It turned out to be the winning bait as it produced nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces.
“I was catching most of them suspended midway over timber in approximately 25 to 35 feet. They just loved that thing.”
Blaylock won’t reveal the specific brand of swimbait because he believes it’s a secret worth keeping. He would cast the bait out, count down to about 10 or 12 and then slowly retrieve it. On day two he 
started the day by making a cast and then wedging his rod between his legs. As he was taking his jacket off, he received a bite, and it ended up being a 4-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass.
“This whole week has just been unbelievable like that.”
Blaylock earned $20,000 for his win, and his professional angling path looks similar to his older brother’s. He has aspirations about turning pro, but he wants to take it slow. For now, he’s enjoying his first tour-level win in his home state.
“The money is great; everyone will say that. But winning a tournament that I always followed and aspired to be in is just amazing.
“I won’t say that turning pro is not the cards, but I know if you jump right into it, it will make you wish you hadn’t.”
Horton second
Mark Horton of Nicholasville, Ky., caught one keeper bass Saturday that pushed his total weight to 18 pounds even.
Horton said he was fishing inspired this week as his daughter was ill back home. This was his second top-10 finish on the FLW Tour, the other coming on Kentucky Lake.
For finishing second, Horton earned a check worth $7,500.
Rest of the best
Brandon Hunter launched up the leaderboard on day two with a 12-pound, 2-ounce limit, the only limit caught Friday. On Saturday he failed to catch a keeper, finishing the tournament with 17 pounds, 10 ounces.
“I caught most of my fish on the Lucky Craft Pointer 100 in chartreuse-shad,” said the 27-year-old Hunter, who won the 2009 FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake.
Hunter’s next tournament is at Lake of the Ozarks, as he is competing in the season opener in the EverStart Central Division. For third place at Beaver Lake, he earned $5,000.
Philip Jarabeck of Lynchburg, Va., caught one bass Saturday weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces. That kept him in fourth place with a total weight of 16 pounds, 15 ounces. Jarabeck, the nephew of David Dudley, earned $4,125 in his first FLW Tour event.
“I fished deep, shallow and everywhere in between,” said Jarabeck. “And I fished both the muddy water and the clear water.”
Jarabeck’s big bag came on day two when he sacked 13 pounds on only three fish. Those bass came from the clear water in the midlake region by twitching a jerkbait around standing timber.
Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md., moved up to fifth place after catching two good fish weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces. Bae finished the event with a total weight of 15 pounds, 7 ounces, earning $3,000.
Bae fished a jig on day one with Chad Brauer and jerkbaits on days two and three with Randy Blaukat and Justin Lucas.
“My goal this year is to win (Co-)Angler of the Year, so this is a good start,” Bae said.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers at the FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake:
6th: Van Foster Jr. of Dalton, Ga., 14-13, $2,500
7th: Mark Shelton of Fayetteville, Ark., 14-11, $2,000
8th: Brian Wilson of Somerset, Ky., 14-8, $1,800
9th: Brock Bertrand of Fayetteville, Ark., 14-4, $1,700
10th: Ronnie Lawson of Hollister, Mo., 13-15, $1,600