Williams Trusts Instinct for Win

Lancaster nets co-angler title in Arkie Super Tournament

Jerry Williams of Conway, Arkansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 7 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division Super Tournament on Lake Dardanelle with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 12 ounces. Williams took home $7,619 for his efforts.

Williams says he targeted drops and ledges in areas on the lower end of Lake Dardanelle. He positioned his boat in 5 to 6 feet water and fished down to as deep as 20 feet.

“The fish were in brush on mussel bed drops and ledges,” says Williams, a former Walmart FLW Tour pro with three Forrest Wood Cup qualifications. “You had to have both mussels and brush for them to be there. There were spots with one or the other, but you absolutely needed to have both.”

Williams caught 13 keepers – including the biggest bass of the tournament – on a 3/4-ounce custom-made jig.

“The conditions were tough, so I was going for quality over quantity,” says Williams. “Most anglers were running down the banks, but I felt it was the wrong time of year for that pattern. I think that instinct is what helped me edge out the field.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Jerry Williams, Conway, Ark., 10 bass, 29-12, $5,619 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Brandon Lee, Ratcliff, Ark., 10 bass, 29-4, $2,502

3^rd:          Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., nine bass, 28-3, $1,666

4^th:          Brad Morgan, Ashdown, Ark., 10 bass, 26-8, $1,368

5^th:          Troy Gibson, Mountain Home, Ark., 10 bass, 25-3, $1,001

6^th:          Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, 10 bass, 25-3, $1,017

7^th:          Sawyer Grace, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 23-6, $834

8^th:          Jake Ormond, Sterlington, La., nine bass, 22-10, $751

9^th:          Dustin Huggins, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 22-7, $667

10^th:        Fred Martin, North Little Rock, Ark., nine bass, 21-14, $884

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 

Williams’ 5-pound, 10-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $615.

Lancaster wins co-angler title

Tabitha Lancaster of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and earned $2,602 with a two-day cumulative catch of six bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Tabitha Lancaster, Arkadelphia, Ark., six bass, 17-9, $2,602

2^nd:         Niketa Gooden, Lonoke, Ark., eight bass, 14-1, $1,251

3^rd:          Stephen Simms, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 11-12, $834

4^th:          Juan Barrientos, Clarksville, Ark., four bass, 11-10, $584

5^th:          Jason Scoggins, Benton, Ark., five bass, 10-14, $500

6^th:          Josh Ford, Mount Ida, Ark., four bass, 8-13, $459

7^th:          Lawrence Dimas, Prattsville, Ark., four bass, 8-7, $417

8^th:          Wayne Hutton, Imboden, Ark., four bass, 8-3, $425

9^th:          Steve McDonald, Greenwood, Ark., two bass, 8-0, $334

10^th:        Dustin Roberts, Clarksville, Ark., four bass, 7-15, $292

Justin Loggins of Marshall, Arkansas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Saturday, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $307.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. 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.