Hensiek nets title on stingy Lake Hamilton
Clark claims co-angler crown
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Mark Hensiek of Humnoke, Ark., weighed in a two-day total of nine bass for 21 pounds, 6 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Arkie Division Super Tournament on Lake Hamilton. For his victory, Hensiek earned $3,971.
Hensiek flipped a jig for his second BFL-level win and outdistanced the field by nearly 3 pounds on a stingy Lake Hamilton.
“Practice for me was tough,” said Hensiek. “But I started flipping docks and caught a few, so that was my plan.
“Saturday I started out on the main lake throwing a topwater bait and I caught one fish,” continued Hensiek. “I had three other areas to fish, but each had a boat on it, so I went up the lake and into a pocket and started throwing a jig.
“I was alternating,” said Hensiek. “Sometimes I would swim the jig past a pole and kill it, and I caught some just dragging the jig on the bottom. I think by fishing a jig I got better quality bites than some other guys.
“The second day I did the exact same thing,” relayed Hensiek. “I stuck with the jig and caught all my fish in 10 feet or less. I was going to live and die with that jig.”
Hensiek said he used a brown-colored 3/4-ounce Omega football jig with a Yamamoto Double Tail Grub and a 3/8-ounce Strike King swim jig with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw.
Rounding out the top 10 pros:
2nd: Adam Wright, Benton, Ark., 10 bass, 18-10, $1,985
3rd: Joel Newman, North Little Rock, Ark., eight bass, 17-8, $1,324
4th: Steve Miller, Belleville, Ark., 10 bass, 17-5, $927
5th: James Stricklin Jr., Hot Springs, Ark., eight bass, 16-0, $794
6th: Huey Applegate, Jessieville, Ark., seven bass, 15-6, $728
7th: Kyle Landers, Benton, Ark., 10 bass, 15-4, $662 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
8th: Leon Stone, Horatio, Ark., nine bass, 14-13, $596
9th: Randy Brickell, Royal, Ark., nine bass, 12-15, $529
10th: Mike Scoggins, Danville, Ark., five bass, 9-3, $463
Complete results can be found here.
Clark wins co-angler title
Pete Clark of Malvern, Ark., weighed in a two-day total of eight bass totaling 14 pounds, 7 ounces Sunday to win $1,986 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
2nd: Kerry Barnett, Waldron, Ark., eight bass, 11-8, $993
3rd: Evan Barnes, London, Ark., eight bass, 11-4, $660
4th: Stan Cullipher, Malvern, Ark., nine bass, 11-2, $463
5th: Bradley Barnes, Batesville, Ark., six bass, 9-10, $397
6th: Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., seven bass, 9-0, $364
7th: Brian Choate, Conway, Ark., four bass, 8-5, $331
8th: Bruce Thompson, Little Rock, Ark., four bass, 7-4, $298
9th: Vance Bolding, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 6-5, $265
10th: Trevor Wood, Pine Bluff, Ark., five bass, 6-5, $232
Complete co-angler results can be found here.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 Regional Championship on Lake Texoma in Pottsboro, Texas. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.