King Stays Mobile for Win on Grand

Sandidge wins co-angler title in Okie Division Super Tournament

September 19, 2016 • MLF • Archives

Benjamin King of Garnett, Kansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 2 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division Super Tournament on Grand Lake, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 7 ounces. King pocketed $8,349 for his victory.

King split his tournament between two patterns – dragging a worm near flats with docks and flipping a creature bait to willows. He says his areas were spread out between Sailboat Bridge and Drowning Creek.

“I used a Mesu Baits shaky head with a worm on the flats, and I flipped a green-pumpkin Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in the willows,” says King, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “I dragged the worm on the bottom from 6 inches to 2 feet of water.”

King says he moved a lot, fishing 15 to 20 areas each day of the event.

“I kept running because I wasn’t catching much,” says King. “The first day I had five keeper bites, and the second day I had six.”

King says his Ardent Apex Elite reel and 7’6” medium-heavy Ardent Edge rod were essential to his victory.

“The Ardent equipment was really the difference maker for me,” says King. “It loaded up well, even with that little bait. I felt like I could cast a mile. If I saw one blow up on the flats, I was able to reach it.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st: Benjamin King, Garnett, Kan., 10 bass, 29-7, $6,349 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd: Sawyer Grace, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 27-8, $3,175

3^rd: Chris Torkleson, Sand Springs, Okla., nine bass, 27-5, $2,317

4^th: Cade Alsbury, Cave Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 26-6, $1,481

5^th: Ryan Wilbanks, Wagoner, Okla., nine bass, 26-3, $1,270

6^th: Brandon Mosley, Choctaw, Okla., 10 bass, 25-14, $1,164

7^th: Sean McAllister, Checotah, Okla., 10 bass, 24-12, $1,058

8^th: Joel Baker, Talala, Okla., 10 bass, 24-8, $1,052

9^th: Brett Stearnes, Joplin, Mo., nine bass, 24-3, $1,732

10^th: Spencer Grace, Dardanelle, Ark., 10 bass, 22-15, $741

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Stearnes caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $885.

Sandidge wins co-angler title

Jason Sandidge of Centerton, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and earned $3,175 with a two-day cumulative catch of eight bass weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st: Jason Sandidge, Centerton, Ark., eight bass, 20-6, $3,175

2^nd: Steve Bradfield, Claremore, Okla., six bass, 15-13, $1,808

3^rd: Justin Lillie, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 13-15, $1,059

4^th: Chris Zins, Oklahoma City, Okla., four bass, 12-8, $741

5^th: Justin Newell, Muskogee, Okla., four bass, 11-1, $635

6^th: Dick Hindman, Sapulpa, Okla., four bass, 10-15, $582

7^th: Kyle Pride, Skiatook, Okla., five bass, 10-11, $529

8^th: Marc Logan, Jones, Okla., three bass, 10-2, $476

9^th: Paul Loveland, Grove, Okla., three bass, 9-9, $644

10^th: Luke Frazier, Skiatook, Okla., four bass, 9-8, $570

Bradfield caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $221.

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.