Lewis wins co-angler title
Albert Collins of Nacogdoches, Texas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division tournament of 2015 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. For his victory, Collins earned $5,271.
“I spent a lot of time practicing for this tournament so to start the week off with a little more money in my pocket is great,” said Collins.
The Texas angler said he targeted postspawn bass that were pulled back in front of bushes near mid-lake points.
“They congregated near where the shad were spawning,” said Collins. “I was getting a lot of bites but most of them were too small. In fact, I never caught multiple good-sized fish in one spot so I ended up running to a lot of different points.”
Collins said nearly every fish he caught came on a California Love-colored Missile Baits D Stroyer.
“I focused on two different depth ranges – 9 to 12 feet, and 18 feet. In those depths, the D Stroyer worked really well,” said Collins. “I caught around 20 keepers throughout the day so it was very productive.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Albert Collins, Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 22-2, $4,271 + $1,000 Mercury Bonus
2nd: Cody Martin, Goldonna, La., five bass, 19-14, $2,136
3rd: Charles Hammack, New Caney, Texas, five bass, 16-6, $1,424
4th: Clint Lipham, Conroe, Texas, five bass, 16-2, $997
5th: Chris McCall, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 15-13, $854
6th: Cole Garrett, Winnfield, La., five bass, 15-12, $783
7th: Blake Schroeder, Whitehouse, Texas, five bass, 15-9, $712
8th: Kevin Lasyone, Dry Prong, La., five bass, 15-5, $641
9th: Colt Farris, Joshua, Texas, five bass, 14-7, $569
10th: Craig Frilot, Breaux Bridge, La., five bass, 14-2, $498
Martin caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $595.
Russell Lewis of Pineville, Louisiana, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $2,064 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Russell Lewis, Pineville, La., five bass, 17-7, $2,064
2nd: Steve Phillips, Huntington, Texas, five bass, 13-10, $1,032
3rd: Jose Santana, Diboll, Texas, five bass, 13-8, $688
4th: Joshua Dupree, Haughton, La., five bass, 13-5, $482
5th: Clay Phillips, Huntington, Texas, five bass, 12-15, $413
6th: Cody Canerday, Welsh, La., five bass, 12-12, $378
7th: Henry Trotty, Kountze, Texas, five bass, 12-9, $344
8th: Brian Tolley, Katy, Texas, five bass, 11-12, $310
9th: Steve Lee, Conroe, Texas, five bass, 11-1, $275
10th: Larry Corley, Bentley, La., five bass, 10-15, $241
Kyle Guidry of Opelousas, Louisiana, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $287.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will 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.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
