Young Focused on Perch Spawn

Co-angler Delgado takes title in Ozark Super Tournament

Ed Young of Harrison, Arkansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 12 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Ozark Division Super Tournament on Lake of the Ozarks presented by Minn Kota, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 13 ounces. For his victory, Young earned $6,586.

“On Saturday I started close to the takeoff ramp and was throwing a River2Sea Whopper Plopper,” says Young, who notched his first win in BFL competition. “I hit some main-lake points with black rock and caught some keepers fairly quick. After that, I worked my way up to the 55-mile marker of the lake.”

Young spent the majority of the event fishing shallow flats in main-lake pockets.

“There was a perch spawn going on, and I’d catch fish wherever they were present,” says Young. “I was flipping the shallow side of docks using a Red Bug-colored Zoom Magnum Trick Worm and ribbontail worm – both rigged on shaky-head jigs.”

Young says all of his bass came from less than 4 feet of water each day, and that a slow and steady presentation was a crucial part of his success.

“I caught around nine keepers on day one, and another eight on day two – all on Lew’s rods and reels,” says Young.

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Ed Young, Harrison, Ark., 10 bass, 37-13, $6,586

2^nd:         Jeffrey Smith, Knob Noster, Mo., 10 bass, 37-5, $3,293

3^rd:          Charlie Bogard, O’Fallon, Mo., 10 bass, 37-3, $2,195

4^th:          Andy Newcomb, Camdenton, Mo., 10 bass, 36-5, $1,537

5^th:          Dion Hibdon, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 10 bass, 34-6, $1,617

6^th:          Bob Renken, Linn Creek, Mo., 10 bass, 34-1, $1,207

7^th:          Dennis Berhorst, Holts Summit, Mo., 10 bass, 32-2, $1,098

8^th:          Roger Cook, Lebanon, Mo., nine bass, 31-12, $988

9^th:          Jeremy Medina, Camdenton, Mo., 10 bass, 31-4, $878

10^th:        John Sapper, De Soto, Mo., 10 bass, 31-4, $768

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 

Craig Berkshire of Rogers, Arkansas, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds even – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $945.

Delgado wins co-angler crown

Stephen Delgado of Lees Summit, Missouri, won the co-angler division and earned $3,293 with a two-day cumulative catch of nine bass weighing 25 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1^st:          Stephen Delgado, Lees Summit, Mo., nine bass, 25-13, $3,293

               2^nd:         Dennis Spell, Bonne Terre, Mo., 10 bass, 24-12, $1,646

               3^rd:          Ryan Jordan, Lake Ozark, Mo., eight bass, 20-4, $1,098

               4^th:          Jamie Eynard, Holts Summit, Mo., 10 bass, 19-10, $768

               5^th:          Sam Bremmerkamp, Joplin, Mo., seven bass, 19-0, $859

               6^th:          Aaron Strohkirch, Camdenton, Mo., seven bass, 18-13, $604

               7^th:          Brandon Hecker, Camdenton, Mo., six bass, 17-15, $549

               8^th:          Kevin Manion, Park Hills, Mo., five bass, 17-6, $494

               9^th:          John Bell, Lake Saint Louis, Mo., eight bass, 16-6, $439

               10^th:        Rich Purington, Platsmouth, Neb., five bass, 15-13, $906

Purington caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $472.

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.