Prairie Grove’s Sumter Wins T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League Opener on Arkansas River
Kansas’ Wright Takes Co-Angler Title
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Boater Brit Sumter of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, brought five bass to the weigh-in stage Saturday totaling 18 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division opener on the Arkansas River. For his victory, Sumter pocketed $4,315.
“I caught them all flipping laydowns in the backs of spawning pockets,” said Sumter, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I stayed in the Webbers Falls pool and fished in the Spaniard Creek area and probably hit five different pockets. I think they were moving in to spawn, but the water was too dirty to see them.”
Sumter said he used a Texas-rigged, black and blue- or green pumpkin-colored YUM Christie Critter with a 5/16-ounce weight.
“My fish were in less than 3 feet of water. As soon as I’d pitch in and pick it up they’d be there, probably hitting it on the fall,” said Sumter. “I caught six keepers and weighed all largemouth. Four of my fish came by 8:30 [a.m.] and two more around noon, which culled a smaller one.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Brit Sumter, Prairie Grove, Ark., five bass, 18-1, $4,315
2nd: Nick Kincaid, Coweta, Okla., five bass, 16-12, $2,157
3rd: Brian Dossey, Okmulgee, Okla., five bass, 15-5, $1,439
4th: Jacob Keenom, Meeker, Okla., five bass, 15-2, $1,007
5th: Phillip Lunceford, Stigler, Okla., five bass, 13-13, $863
6th: Mark Shadowens, Kiefer, Okla., five bass, 13-12, $791
7th: John Soukup, Agra, Okla., five bass, 13-9, $919
8th: Chuck Nelson, Elmore City, Okla., five bass, 13-3, $747
9th: Rodney Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 12-13, $575
10th: Brandon Linney, Tahlequah, Okla., three bass, 12-10, $478
10th: Matt Williams, Prairie Grove, Ark., four bass, 12-10, $478
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Chris Ogan of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, caught a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $610.
Matt Wright of Clay Center, Kansas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,157 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Matt Wright, Clay Center, Kan., five bass, 13-12, $2,157
2nd: Russell Vandiver, Wyandotte, Okla., five bass, 13-4, $1,079
3rd: Steve Sanders, Gore, Okla., three bass, 10-11, $917
4th: Jackie Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., four bass, 10-7, $503
5th: Tej Lad, Tulsa, Okla., four bass, 9-9, $431
6th: Rick Blosser, Tulsa, Okla., four bass, 9-6, $446
7th: Steven Whitaker, Sallisaw, Okla., four bass, 9-3, $360
8th: Drake Lumpkin, Ft. Gibson, Okla., three bass, 8-13, $306
8th: Keith Sherwood, McAlester, Okla., four bass, 8-13, $306
10th: Nic Conger, Fort Smith, Ark., four bass, 8-9, $252
Jimmy Green of Tulsa, Oklahoma, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $305.
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. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky, presented by Evinrude. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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