Henderson Ran to Shad Spawn

Rhoades wins co-angler title on Arkansas River

Kyle Henderson of Sheridan, Arkansas, brought a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds even to the scale Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division event presented by Mud Hole Custom Tackle on the Arkansas River. For his win, Henderson took home $3,792.

“We launched out of Pool No. 6, but I locked to Pool 5 because it’s my home waters,” says Henderson, who earned his second career-win in BFL competition. “Unfortunately, there was a barge in the lock, so I wasn’t able to get to my main area until 8:30 a.m.

“The area I targeted was a backwater that had some clearer water in it,” continues Henderson. “The shad were spawning on a stretch of grass. I wasn’t sure if they’d still be spawning by the time I got in there but when I pulled up they were there, along with some bass. I was able to see them – even in the low-light cloudy conditions – with my Costa Sunrise Silver glasses.”

Henderson made three initial passes along a 100-yard stretch of grass. He used a different bait each time – a white custom spinnerbait, a shad-colored Z-Man ChatterBait and a Sexy Shad-colored Strike King 2.5 KVD HC Square Bill Silent Crankbait.

“I caught a couple of key fish on the ChatterBait, and a big one on the third pass with the squarebill,” says Henderson. “I caught everything I weighed in within an hour.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Kyle Henderson, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 16-0, $3,792

2^nd:         Chris Dennis, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 15-14, $2,256

3^rd:          David Summers, Mount Ida, Ark., four bass, 15-1, $1,501

4^th:          Larry Gragg, Pine Bluff, Ark., five bass, 14-4, $778

4^th:          Fred Martin, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 14-4, $878

6^th:          Hoyt Akins, Scott, Ark., five bass, 13-11, $659

7^th:          Danny Gwinn, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 13-9, $599

8^th:          Quincy Houchin, Mabelvale, Ark., five bass, 13-6, $539

9^th:          Cody Burke, Bryant, Ark., five bass, 12-14, $479

10^th:        Paul Browning, Morrilton, Ark., five bass, 12-5, $419

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Dennis caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $460.

Rhoades wins co-angler title

Dusty Rhoades of Gravelly, Arkansas, weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $1,896.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Dusty Rhoades, Gravelly, Ark., five bass, 14-13, $1,896

2^nd:         Previn Dixon, Fort Smith, Ark., four bass, 11-10, $898

3^rd:          Cole Allen, Stamps, Ark., four bass, 11-1, $598

4^th:          Stephen Simms, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 10-9, $419

5^th:          Michael Lucas, Forrest City, Ark., five bass, 9-14, $359

6^th:          Mark Stevens, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 9-12, $329

7^th:          Jason Wedel, Lowell, Ark., five bass, 9-8, $299

8^th:          Jody Jones, Harvey, Ark., five bass, 9-4, $269

9^th:          Robert Widger, Cabot, Ark., four bass, 9-1, $239

10^th:        Nicholas Bergt, Atlanta, Texas, four bass, 8-12, $210

Jonathan Wolfe of Camden, Arkansas, caught the biggest bass among Co-angler Division anglers, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $230.

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.