Edmond’s Edwards wins co-angler title
Kyle Kitts of Joplin, Missouri, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the third FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division tournament of 2016 on Eufaula Lake, presented by Navionics. For his victory, Kitts took home $4,507.
“I’ve only been to Eufaula once before, so this win feels even sweeter than Grand earlier this year,” said Kitts, who picked up the second win of the season after winning earlier this year at Grand Lake.
“I was fishing in the mid-lake area, targeting chunk rock banks,” Kitts continued. “The fish were very shallow – I was literally throwing my bait to the water line on the bank and was getting bit right away. My ChatterBait is pretty beat up from hitting the rocks.”
Kitts said that he used a black and blue Z-Man ChatterBait with a black and blue Strike King Rage Craw all day long to catch his 10 to 15 keepers.
“The fish were hitting the ChatterBait almost like a topwater, as soon as I dragged it into the water,” Kitts said. “The morning bite was pretty good, but the big ones were biting in the afternoon. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. was definitely the best bite.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Kyle Kitts, Joplin, Mo., five bass, 17-2, $4,507
2nd: Cade Alsbury, Cave Springs, Ark., five bass, 16-13, $2,253
3rd: Brent Haggard, Gans, Okla., five bass, 16-8, $1,502
4th: Ed Barton, Vian, Okla., five bass, 16-5, $1,052
5th: Jeff Keene, Vinita, Okla., five bass, 15-8, $901
6th: John Shore, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 15-1, $826
7th: Sawyer Grace, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 14-13, $751
8th: Dane Coale, Norman, Okla., five bass, 14-10, $676
9th: Ricci Head, Shawnee, Okla., five bass, 14-9, $601
10th: Robert White, Moore, Okla., five bass, 14-8, $526
Paul Waner of Choctaw, Oklahoma, caught a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $655.
Travis Edwards of Edmond, Oklahoma, weighed in five bass totaling 17 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to earn $2,253 and win the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Travis Edwards, Edmond, Okla., five bass, 17-5, $2,253
2nd: Kirk Walker, Tahlequah, Okla., five bass, 15-3, $1,127
3rd: Luke Frazier, Skiatook, Okla., five bass, 14-5, $751
4th: Kyle Torkelson, Sand Springs, Okla., five bass, 13-8, $526
5th: Jerry Evans, Pottsboro, Texas, five bass, 13-7, $451
6th: Matthew Gregory, Alma, Ark., five bass, 12-8, $394
6th: Brian Parker, Sand Springs, Okla., five bass, 12-8, $394
8th: Justin Lillie, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 12-4, $338
9th: Cameron Foster, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 12-3, $300
10th: Mike Blevins, Jay, Okla., five bass, 12-0, $263
Josh Dozier of Grove, Oklahoma, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $163.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 27-29 Regional Championship on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas. 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 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
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 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
