Fulps Wins by Ounces
Spence tops Co-angler field
Derek Fulps of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the first T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division event of 2017 on Grand Lake. For his win, Fulps took home $5,996.
“My three biggest bass came on a Molting Craw-colored Elk River Finesse Jig,” said Fulps, who earned his second career win in FLW competition. “I worked it through mid-lake areas around docks and where bass were staging. I had a lot of success on bluff ends, specifically ones that transitioned into a flat with pea gravel and smaller rock.”
Fulps said that the slope of the bluff ends was an important factor in his areas.
“The bluff ends produced a lot more than the bluffs themselves – I couldn’t find bass on the 45-degree banks,” said Fulps. “By 11 a.m., I had three bass in the boat nearing 17 pounds.”
In the afternoon, Fulps said he continued working bluff ends using a Storm Wiggle Wart. He said he stayed mid-lake, and was able to top off a five-bass limit.
“With 10 minutes left to fish, I caught my sixth keeper and culled out one of the smaller Wiggle Wart fish,” said Fulps. “It came in on a War Eagle Spinnerbait and ended up winning me the event by 3 ounces.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Derek Fulps, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 21-10, $5,996
2nd: Kevin Treece, Fort Smith, Ark., five bass, 21-7, $2,898
3rd: Kyle Kitts, Joplin, Mo., five bass, 19-3, $1,934
4th: Cade Alsbury, Springdale, Ark., five bass, 17-15, $1,352
5th: Larry Crouch, Carthage, Mo., five bass, 17-11, $1,159
6th: Dalton Harbin, Harrah, Okla., four bass, 17-7, $2,008
7th: Luke Frazier, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 17-1, $1,066
8th: James Marsh, Thomas, Okla., five bass, 16-6, $869
9th: Ryan Wilbanks, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 16-1, $773
10th: Robert Myers, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 15-11, $676
Complete results can be found here.
Big Bass
Harbin caught a bass weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $945.
Chris Spence of Marlow, Oklahoma, weighed in three bass totaling 13 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $3,370.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Chris Spence, Marlow, Okla., three bass, 13-5, $3,370
2nd: Kurt Gordon, Cushing, Okla., three bass, 11-9, $1,449
3rd: J.P. Northcutt, Wyandotte, Okla., three bass, 8-15, $967
4th: Kevin Tye, Watts, Okla., four bass, 8-8, $676
5th: Chris Rinehart, Mustang, Okla., two bass, 8-5, $580
6th: Phillip Delong, Stillwater, Okla., three bass, 8-4, $531
7th: Christopher Johnson, Kansas, Okla., two bass, 7-9, $483
8th: Patrick Weir, Broken Arrow, Okla., three bass, 7-8, $435
9th: Kevin Turner, Sand Springs, Okla., two bass, 7-7, $586
10th: Jay Nyce, Rogers, Ark., two bass, 7-4, $321
10th: Jimmy Green, Grove, Okla., three bass, 7-4, $321
Complete results can be found here.
Spence also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing 9 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $472.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on the Red River in Bossier City, Louisiana. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.