Warner Works Rock for Fort Gibson W
Bradford claims co-angler title
Russ Warner of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, weighed five bass Saturday totaling 15 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division tournament on Fort Gibson Lake. Warner took home $5,165 for his win.
“I fished the mid-lake area and targeted offshore rock piles,” says Warner, who logged his first career victory in FLW competition. “All of my fish came from between 6 and 10 feet of water and were on main-lake spots, close to the river channel.
“Every fish I weighed came on a 10-inch YUM Ribbon Tail worm,” continued Warner. “Junebug was the best color, but I did switch to cranberry later in the day. My last fish bit around 2 (p.m.).”
Warner says he fished slow, rotating through eight different stops. He hit each at least three times and caught five keepers.
“I got my MinnKota Ultrex trolling motor a couple months ago and wouldn’t have won without it,” says Warner. “The wind was blowing pretty hard and I could get lined up on the rock piles I had marked. I hit Spot Lock, and it would hold me there as I faced the wind. I could make 20, 30 or even 40 casts to the same spot, sometimes waiting until that 40th cast to get a bite.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Russ Warner, Tahlequah, Okla., five bass, 15-15, $5,165
2nd: Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., five bass, 15-10, $2,782
3rd: Dennis Berhorst, Holts Summit, Mo., five bass, 15-9, $2,122
4th: David Youngblood, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 15-7, $1,205
5th: Terry Thomas, Nixa, Mo., five bass, 15-3, $990
5th: Jacob Capps, Muskogee, Okla., three bass, 15-3, $990
7th: Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., five bass, 14-15, $861
8th: Clint Williams, Fayetteville, Ark., five bass, 14-9, $775
9th: Tom Silber, Labadie, Mo., five bass, 13-14, $689
10th: Curt Warren, Rose, Okla., three bass, 13-10, $603
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Richard Bower III of Westphalia, Missouri, brought a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $805.
Bradford wins co-angler title
Bryant Bradford of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, won the Co-angler Division and $2,582 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Bryant Bradford, Oklahoma City, Okla., five bass, 11-9, $2,582
2nd: Bradley Sullivan, Shawnee, Okla., four bass, 11-3, $1,693
3rd: Steve Madar, Starkville, Miss., five bass, 10-9, $863
4th: Jacob Sloan, Paola, Kan., four bass, 10-8, $759
4th: Bill Wiles, Arcadia, Okla., four bass, 10-8, $559
6th: Stephen Stewart, Fort Gibson, Okla., three bass, 10-2, $473
7th: David Hamilton, Rogers, Ark., four bass, 9-15, $430
8th: Kurt Gordon, Cushing, Okla., three bass, 9-6, $387
9th: David Lansford, Muskogee, Okla., three bass, 9-5, $344
10th: Stephen Delgado, Lee’s Summit, Mo., three bass, 8-13, $351
Sullivan caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $402.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division tournament on Fort Gibson Lake was hosted by the Wagoner Area Chamber of Commerce.
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. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. 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.