Newberry, Lebrun Tie for Title on Rayburn

Harrison nets co-anlger title

Dicky Newberry of Houston, Texas, and Nick Lebrun of Bossier City, Louisiana, each weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to share top honors at the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Cowboy Division tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Power-Pole. For their efforts, both earned $3,373, with Newberry adding another $3,845 in bonuses.

Newberry began his day targeting postspawn bass near clay points using a Carolina-rigged, green-pumpkin-colored V&M Lizard. After catching a limit, he said he switched to flipping bushes with a black and blue Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.

“The water was higher than normal so I knew the bushes would be a good bet,” says Newberry. “Around 1 p.m., I went back to a set of bushes I’d hit earlier and threw the Beaver over the top of them.  Before I knew it, the 11-pounder bit it and pulled it down. It was quite the fight. I never thought a bass could pull that hard.”

Lebrun caught his fish between five areas near the Highway 147 Bridge. He said he used one bait to catch his limit – a green-pumpkin-colored V&M Cliff’s Wild Craw with a 1-ounce tungsten weight.

“When the lake is high, I’m confident fishing flooded trees and bushes,” says Lebrun. “The best bites came in 5 to 6 feet. It was a great day on the water.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, five bass, 22-6, $5,018 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

1^st:          Nick Lebrun, Bossier City, La., five bass, 22-6, $3,373

3^rd:          Terry Adams, Berwick, La., five bass, 21-0, $1,498

4^th:          Michael LaFleur, Orangefield, Texas, five bass, 20-14, $1,050

5^th:          Phil Marks, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 20-11, $900

6^th:          Bob Vote, Kingwood, Texas, five bass, 19-10, $1,125

7^th:          Ricky Guy, Humble, Texas, five bass, 18-10, $750

8^th:          Chris King, Jasper, Texas, five bass, 17-7, $675

9^th:          Steve Phillips, Huntington, Texas, five bass, 16-15, $600

10           Chad Heitman, League City, Texas, five bass, 16-7, $498

10^th:        Caleb Sumrall, New Iberia, La., five bass, 16-7, $498

Complete results can be found here.  

Newberry also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, an 11-pound, 6-ounce behemoth and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $645.

Harrison wins co-angler title

Jacob Harrison of Nash, Texas, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to earn $2,249 and win the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Jacob Harrison, Nash, Texas, five bass, 15-6, $2,249

2^nd:         Danny Rodgers, Ore City, Texas, four bass, 15-3, $1,447

3^rd:          George Cox, Silsbee, Texas, three bass, 13-13, $752

4^th:          Jace Patterson, Ruston, La., five bass, 13-8, $525

5^th:          Misty Schmidt, Mabank, Texas, five bass, 13-0, $450

6^th:          Patrick Harwell, Des Arc, Ark., three bass, 11-14, $412

7^th:          Shad Jenkins, San Augustine, Texas, five bass, 11-12, $375

8^th:          Wesley Meeks, Mont Belvieu, Texas, five bass, 11-9, $337

9^th:          David Cox, Silsbee, Texas, five bass, 11-8, $300

10^th:        Benjamin Shaw, Haughton, La., four bass, 11-7, $262

Rodgers caught a largemouth weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces – the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $322.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 27-29 Regional Championship on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.