It was by targeting the small inlets that brought victory to Kirk Smith of Edmond, Oklahoma at the Walmart Bass Fishing League Okie Division Super Tournament on Grand Lake. His five-bass limit came to a totaling 20 pounds, 15 ounces to win with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 11 ounces. Smith received a winning check for the amount of $6,910.
“I was targeting main-lake points in 10 to 12 feet of water,” said Smith of his first win in FLW competition. “At each point, there would be a small 100-square-foot spot that I had to cast to repeatedly to get a bite. These spots were typically around subtle irregularities in the shoreline, like a small inlet.”
Smith said he used a green-pumpkin-colored jig and a Gene Larew Biffle Bug to catch six keepers on Saturday and eight keepers on Sunday.
“I caught the majority of my fish between and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.,” said Smith. “Two of them came on the Biffle Bug and the rest on the jig.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Kirk Smith, Edmond, Okla., 10 bass, 35-11, $6,910
2nd: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 31-11, $3,455
3rd: Thomas Canady, Bartlesville, Okla., 10 bass, 30-13, $2,301
4th: Mitchell Webb, Skiatook, Okla., 10 bass, 25-3, $1,612
5th: Wade Ramsey, Choctaw, Okla., 10 bass, 24-10, $1,382
6th: B.J. Miller, Adams, Neb., 10 bass, 24-4, $1,267
7th: Wayne Diffee, Oakhurst, Okla., 10 bass, 24-3, $1,152
8th: Justin Curnutte, Grove, Okla., nine bass, 24-1, $1,037
9th: Crawford Brantley, Wichita, Kan., 10 bass, 23-14, $921
10th: Joe Waggoner, Carthage, Mo., 10 bass, 23-7, $806
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Waggoner caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday. The fish weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $1005.
Kevin Turner of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and $3,403 with a two-day total of eight bass weighing 17 pounds even.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kevin Turner, Sand Springs, Okla., eight bass, 17-0, $3,403
2nd: Russell Leffew, Winfield, Kan., six bass, 16-1, $1,702
3rd: James Rogers, Springdale, Ark., six bass, 14-7, $1,133
4th: Chastin Ezell, El Reno, Okla., five bass, 13-9, $794
5th: J.P. Northcutt, Wyandotte, Okla., six bass, 13-6, $681
6th: Shane Cashman, Henryetta, Okla., six bass, 13-3, $624
7th: Steven Dowty, Claremore, Okla., six bass, 13-1, $567
8th: Jose Palma, Oklahoma City, Okla., four bass, 12-14, $511
9th: Devin Duncan, Kansas, Okla., five bass, 12-11, $454
10th: Bryant Bradford, Oklahoma City, Okla., six bass, 12-6, $397
Palma caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $495.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now qualify for the Oct. 22-24 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 or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information about FLW visit FLWFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
