Harrison wins co-angler title
Dicky Newberry of Houston, Texas, and Nick Lebrun of Bossier City, Louisiana, each weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to share top honors at the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Cowboy Division tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Power-Pole. For their efforts, both earned $3,373, with Newberry adding another $3,845 in bonuses.
Newberry said he began his day targeting postspawn bass near clay points using a Carolina-rigged, green-pumpkin-colored V&M Lizard. After catching a limit, he said he switched to flipping bushes with a black and blue Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.
“The water was higher than normal so I knew the bushes would be a good bet,” said Newberry. “Around 1 p.m., I went back to a set of bushes I’d hit earlier and threw the Beaver over the top of them. Before I knew it, the 11-pounder bit it and pulled it down. It was quite the fight. I never thought a bass could pull that hard.”
Lebrun said he caught his fish between five areas near the Highway 147 Bridge. He said he used one bait to catch his limit – a green-pumpkin-colored V&M Cliff’s Wild Craw with a 1-ounce tungsten weight.
“When the lake is high, I’m confident fishing flooded trees and bushes,” said Lebrun. “The best bites came in 5 to 6 feet. It was a great day on the water.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, five bass, 22-6, $5,018 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
1st: Nick Lebrun, Bossier City, La., five bass, 22-6, $3,373
3rd: Terry Adams, Berwick, La., five bass, 21-0, $1,498
4th: Michael LaFleur, Orangefield, Texas, five bass, 20-14, $1,050
5th: Phil Marks, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 20-11, $900
6th: Bob Vote, Kingwood, Texas, five bass, 19-10, $1,125
7th: Ricky Guy, Humble, Texas, five bass, 18-10, $750
8th: Chris King, Jasper, Texas, five bass, 17-7, $675
9th: Steve Phillips, Huntington, Texas, five bass, 16-15, $600
10 Chad Heitman, League City, Texas, five bass, 16-7, $498
10th: Caleb Sumrall, New Iberia, La., five bass, 16-7, $498
Newberry also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, an 11-pound, 6-ounce behemoth and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $645.
Jacob Harrison of Nash, Texas, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to earn $2,249 and win the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jacob Harrison, Nash, Texas, five bass, 15-6, $2,249
2nd: Danny Rodgers, Ore City, Texas, four bass, 15-3, $1,447
3rd: George Cox, Silsbee, Texas, three bass, 13-13, $752
4th: Jace Patterson, Ruston, La., five bass, 13-8, $525
5th: Misty Schmidt, Mabank, Texas, five bass, 13-0, $450
6th: Patrick Harwell, Des Arc, Ark., three bass, 11-14, $412
7th: Shad Jenkins, San Augustine, Texas, five bass, 11-12, $375
8th: Wesley Meeks, Mont Belvieu, Texas, five bass, 11-9, $337
9th: David Cox, Silsbee, Texas, five bass, 11-8, $300
10th: Benjamin Shaw, Haughton, La., four bass, 11-7, $262
Rodgers caught a largemouth weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces – the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $322.
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: Brian Johnson, FLW
