Boater Chris Layton (left) and co-angler Eric Pinter (right) Pictured Above

Courtesy of FLW Communications

Little Rock’s Pinter Grabs Co-angler Title

GREERS FERRY, Ark. (April 16, 2018) – Boaters Chris Layton of North Little Rock, Arkansas, and Jason Lieblong of Conway, Arkansas, each caught five bass Saturday weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces, to tie for the win at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division event on Greers Ferry Lake presented by GEARED. After contingency bonuses Layton earned $5,207, while Lieblong took home $4,672.

“I started out throwing a crawdad-colored Strike King 3XD crankbait and caught my first largemouth right after 7 (a.m.),” said Layton, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “There’s a big buck brush flat in the Edgemont area that is generally loaded with fish after the spawn. I figured out that they were actually outside of the brush in 10 to 12 feet of water. I paralleled them with a ChatterBait and a white Mister Twister Twister Tail trailer and caught a 6-pound, 7-ouncer.”

Following his kicker bite, Layton said a cold front moved in which prompted him to target smallmouth. He said he fished a flat with rocks in the Shiloh Park area and finished his limit with the crankbait.

“Around 2 (p.m.) I caught a smallmouth that gave me a ½–pound upgrade – that was key for me,” said Layton.

Lieblong took advantage of the flipping bite and caught his first three largemouth using a green-pumpkin and red-colored lizard around buck brush.

“I’m pretty sure they were on beds, but the water was too dingy to know for sure,” said Lieblong, who logged his third win in FLW competition. “Two of them were on the backside of the brush and one was out front. It took a couple hours to get them in the boat. The water was rising so I think they were scattered.”

Around 1 p.m., Lieblong finished his limit with a Megabass 110 jerkbait fishing main-lake points and bluff walls.

“Within 10 minutes I caught a spotted bass and then a 5-pound largemouth – that’s when I knew I had a chance to win,” said Lieblong.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Chris Layton, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 12-15, $4,207 + $1,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

1^st:          Jason Lieblong, Conway, Ark., five bass, 12-15. $3,672 + $1,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

3^rd:          Shawn Gordon, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 12-7. $1,422

4^th:          Tyler Matlock, Omaha, Ark., five bass, 12-6, $925

5^th:          Mike Brower, Texarkana, Texas, five bass, 11-13, $793

6^th:          Fred Martin, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 11-9, $1,027

7^th:          Nicholas Brown, Mayflower, Ark., five bass, 11-8, $660

8^th:          Russell Richmond, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 11-7, $594

9^th:          Reid Prescott, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 10-14, $528

10^th:        Kyle Hess, Wynne, Ark., five bass, 10-12, $439

10^th:        Wayne Dixon, Morrilton, Ark., five bass, 10-12, $439

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Layton’s 6-pound, 7-ounce largemouth was the heaviest caught in the Boater Division, and earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $535.

Eric Pinter of Little Rock, Arkansas, won the Co-angler Division and $1,944 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Eric Pinter, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 11-7, $1,944

2^nd:         Steve Belew, Beebe, Ark., five bass, 10-2, $810

2^nd:         Robert Scott, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 10-2, $810

4^th:          Jason Mullins, Benton, Ark., five bass, 9-7, $454

5^th:          Matt Russell, England, Ark., four bass, 9-5, $389

6^th:          Nicholas Bergt, Atlanta, Texas, five bass, 9-4, $356

7^th:          Spencer Clark, Maryland Heights, Mo., five bass, 9-3, $308

7^th:          Dusty Rhoades, Gravelly, Ark., five bass, 9-3, $508

9^th:          Randy Bridges, Quitman, Ark., five bass, 9-2, $259

10^th:        Jonathan Lourenco, Lee’s Summit, Mo., five bass, 9-1, $227

David Adams of Roland, Arkansas, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 4 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $262.

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. 25-27 BFL 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 outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2018 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 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.