Jackson wins co-angler title
Jeremiah Kindy of Benton, Arkansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 1 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Arkie Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Ouachita. For his victory, Kindy earned $4,507.
Jeremiah Kindy of Benton, Ark., won the Arkie Division tournament Saturday on Lake Ouachita earning $4,507.
"It’s awesome to start the season out like this," said Kindy, who has 20 top-10 finishes in FLW competition. "You want these points to qualify for regionals and then hopefully the BFL All-American tournament."
Kindy reached his five-bass limit by fishing the mouths of bays in the mid-lake area as well as the rocky banks along their points.
"The morning was tough," said Kindy. "I ran through all of my areas and didn’t have a single bite. I decided to fish deeper along the same route and caught a three-pounder. Then between 1 p.m. and weigh-in, after the weather warmed up, I ended up catching all of my keepers.
"They were feeding on crawfish along those rocky points," Kindy continued. "They were just sitting there in the warmer water which helped produce a consistent bite."
Kindy caught his entire tournament-winning stringer using a Rayburn Red-colored Xcalibur Xr75 Rattle Bait.
"I only caught eight fish all day, but they were the right ones," said Kindy.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jeremiah Kindy, Benton, Ark., five bass, 19-1, $4,507
2nd: Bobby Ammons, Waldron, Ark., five bass, 18-7, $2,253
3rd: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 16-11, $1,502
4th: Von Kinsey, Clarksville, Ark., five bass, 15-6, $1,052
5th: Mark McDonnel, Benton, Ark., five bass, 15-5, $901
6th: Kevin Hartman, Greenbrier, Ark., five bass, 15-1, $826
7th: Leland Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., five bass, 14-10, $751
8th: Dennis Bean, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 14-8, $676
9th: Dylan Hays, Fort Smith, Ark., five bass, 14-4, $601
10th: Larry Vaughan, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 13-14, $526
Blain Jackson of Bryant, Arkansas, weighed in three bass totaling 13 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win $2,214 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Blain Jackson, Bryant, Ark., three bass, 13-5, $2,214
2nd: Jacob Harris, Bonne Terre, Mo., five bass, 11-12, $1,107
3rd: Josh Tittle, Monticello, Ark., four bass, 9-9, $738
4th: David Best, Bartlett, Tenn., three bass, 9-8, $517
5th: Tim Crow, Malvern, Ark., five bass, 9-5, $443
6th: Kevin Clark, Malvern, Ark., four bass, 8-13, $406
7th: Russ Scalf, Ward, Ark., four bass, 8-12, $369
8th: Garret McMahan, Barling, Ark., three bass, 8-8, $332
9th: Joel Newman, North Little Rock, Ark., one bass, 7-5, $295
10th: Joshua Elmore, Hot Springs, Ark., three bass, 6-12, $258
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
