Texas’ Shelton Takes Co-angler Title
Boater Glen Freeman of Zwolle, Louisiana, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Cowboy Division tournament on Toledo Bend Lake Sunday with a two-day cumulative total of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 11 ounces. For his efforts, Freeman took home $8,074.
“I fished offshore ridges, just above the Pendleton Bridge, in 15 to 20 feet of water,” said Freeman, who notched his ninth career win on Toledo Bend in BFL competition. “The main thing for me this weekend was timing. They’d bite early in some spots one day, and the next day they’d bite late in those spots. You had to be in the right place at the right time.”
Freeman said he rotated between two lures to catch his fish – a Red Bug-colored Texas-rigged Double Z Lures Magnum-T Worm and a Mister Twister worm. He said he caught seven keepers Saturday and around 10 on Sunday.
“It was a lot of basic, offshore, old-fashioned Texas-rig worm fishing out there,” said Freeman.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Glen Freeman, Zwolle, La., 10 bass, 37-11, $6,074 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Albert Collins, Nacogdoches, Texas, 10 bass, 36-7, $3,037
3rd: Nick Lebrun, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 32-7, $1,957
4th: Randy Deaver, Blanchard, La., 10 bass, 30-13, $1,371
5th: Charles DuBroc, Hessmer, La., nine bass, 29-4, $1,865
6th: Darold Gleason, Many, La., 10 bass, 28-3, $1,077
7th: Kyle Guidry, Opelousas, La., nine bass, 25-10, $979
8th: Kevin Jeane, Natchitoches, La., 10 bass, 25-7, $881
9th: Brian Martin, Hemphill, Texas, 10 bass, 24-15, $783
10th: Philip Crelia, Center, Texas, 10 bass, 24-10, $685
Stephen Reitzell of Colfax, Louisiana, caught an 8-pound, 9-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $390.
Justin Shelton of Kemp, Texas, caught a two-day total of eight bass weighing 27 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $3,037.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Justin Shelton, Kemp, Texas, eight bass, 27-7, $3,037
2nd: David Kayda, Huffman, Texas, five bass, 21-12, $1,518
3rd: Charles Dellard, Burleson, Texas, nine bass, 21-0, $979
4th: Russell Lewis, Pineville, La., 10 bass, 20-8, $685
5th: Cedric Jackson, Sicily Island, La., five bass, 17-9, $587
6th: Doug Estep, Baton Rouge, La., eight bass, 14-4, $538
7th: Gary Medley, Vidor, Texas, six bass, 14-0, $489
8th: Logan Slaughter, Dallas, Texas, seven bass, 13-15, $441
9th: Dwayne Dennis, Colmesneil, Texas, five bass, 13-15, $392
10th: Alexander Phillips, Bossier, La., seven bass, 13-0, $343
Tim Woodard of Rosepine, Louisiana, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $390.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on the Red River in Bossier City, Louisiana. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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. The 2018 All-American will be held on Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, May 31-June 2 and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier City Sports Commission and the Red River Waterway Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the 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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 258 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa 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
