Castledine corrals giants on Rayburn
West takes co-angler title
BROOKELAND, Texas – Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, Texas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 29 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division tournament of the season on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. For his victory, Castledine earned $5,507.
After winning a pair of BFL events on Sam Rayburn last year, Castledine started on the path to a repeat in grand style, bagging nearly 30 pounds of bass.
“The day started pretty slow, I guess because of the fog,” said Castledine. “I don’t think I even caught anything until about 10 o’clock. Around noon the fog started breaking and the sun came out, and it was like a light went on and they started eating.
“I stayed deep most of the day. Most of it was on main-lake points in 18 to 24 feet, close to the river channel. Because it’s been so cold, the right points are still holding a lot of schools still out there. Find the right points and they’re on them.”
Castledine’s win was part of a magical three-week stretch of huge limits for the Sam Rayburn expert.
“I’ve been on a neat little ride. All these weeks are blending together It’s pretty surreal. I’ve been catching a lot of bags like this. I’ve been weighing in over 25 pounds every time these last few weeks. My co-angler said, `I’ve never seen someone reel in 7-pounders and not get excited.’ I’m just trying to take it all in now. You never know if it’s the last tournament you’re going to win. It never gets old.”
Castledine said he caught most of his weight on a 6th Sense Crush 500DD crankbait and a Carolina rigged prototype 7-inch Kicker Fish Bubble Fry.
Rounding out the top 10 pros:
2nd: Eric Hunt, Buna, Texas, five bass, 26-6, $2,253
3rd: Randy Sitz, Prosper, Texas, five bass, 24-13, $1,502
4th: Randy Deaver, Blanchard, La., five bass, 20-14, $1,052
5th: James Davis Jr., Ferreiday, La., five bass, 19-5, $901
6th: Shane Hilton, Alexandria, La., five bass, 18-5, $826
7th: Jerrel Pringle, Hemphill, Texas, five bass, 16-9, $751
8th: Tommy Rascoe, Converse, La., five bass, 15-14, $676 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
9th: C.J. Nichols, Alexandria, La., five bass, 15-13, $$601
10th: Kent Graham, Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 15-9, $526
Complete results can be found here.
West wins co-angler title
Jared West of Deer Park, Texas, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $2,253 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
2nd: John Valentine, Shreveport, La., five bass, 15-7, $1,127
3rd: Audi Price, Killeen, Texas, five bass, 14-3, $751
4rd: Richard Hooter, Natchitoches, La., five bass, 13-10, $526
5th: Percy Richardson, Lufkin, Texas, five bass, 12-9, $451
6th: Roy Wise, Nevada, Texas, five bass, 12-0, $413
7th: George Cox, Silsbee, Texas, five bass, 11-14, $376
8th: Russell Lewis, Pineville, La., five bass, 11-13, $338
9th: Blake Womack, Baton Rouge, La., five bass, 10-15, $300
10th: Jason Chance, Houston, Texas, four bass, 10-5, $263
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. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C 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. The 2014 BFL All-American is being held June 5-7 on Wilson Lake in Florence, Ala. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW 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 2014 over the course of 229 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.