Benton’s Norman Takes Co-angler Title

MOUNT IDA, Ark. (May 15, 2017) – Josh Ray of Alexander, Arkansas, weighed five bass totaling 15 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to take top honors at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division tournament presented by Mud Hole Custom Tackle on Lake Ouachita. For his limit, Ray earned $4,079.

“I spent the tournament swimming a jig through the water willow grass around Mountain Harbor,” said Ray, who earned his first career-victory in FLW competition. “I probably hit 10 areas that were each about 100 yards long. The lake was flooded, but they’ve been lowering the water which pulled the fish out of the bushes and into the grass.”

Ray said he used a 3/8-ounce green-pumpkin custom swimjig with a Zoom Z-Craw trailer of the same color. He said he also rotated in a Paycheck Baits Repo Man topwater throughout his day.

“I was fishing in 3 to 5 feet of water and was able to catch around 15 keepers,” said Ray. “I caught a limit within the first hour and then fairly consistently throughout the day.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Josh Ray, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 15-1, $4,079

2^nd:         Jason Lieblong, Conway, Ark., five bass, 13-4, $2,040

3^rd:          Chris Darby, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 12-10, $1,808

4^th:          Brad Morgan, Ashdown, Ark., five bass, 12-7, $905

5^th:          Roscoe White III, Rogers, Ark., five bass, 11-13, $776

6^th:          Jason Lenderman, Glenwood, Ark., five bass, 11-7, $711

7^th:          Billy Kindrick, Dover, Ark., five bass, 11-5, $647

8^th:          Brian Kirkendoll, Jacksonville, Ark., five bass, 10-8, $582

9^th:          Chris Dennis, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 10-5, $485

9^th:          Taylor Smith, Texarkana, Ark., five bass, 10-5, $485

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Darby caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $515.

Kendal Norman of Benton, Arkansas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,140 Saturday after weighing four bass totaling 9 pounds, 9 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Kendal Norman, Benton, Ark., four bass, 9-9, $2,140

2^nd:         Bruce Thompson, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 8-14, $1,020

3^rd:          Steve Lee, Benton, Ark., four bass, 8-11, $646

4^th:          Johnny Crider, Fulton, Ark., three bass, 8-8, $453

5^th:          Alvin Williams, Hartman, Ark., five bass, 7-9, $388

6^th:          Michael Gross, Malvern, Ark., two bass, 7-7, $356

7^th:          Colton Garrett, Jonesboro, Ark., three bass, 7-6, $580

8^th:          Jason Wedel, Lowell, Ark., five bass, 7-3, $275

8^th:          Kurt Caldwell, Nashville, Ark., five bass, 7-3, $275

10^th:        Brian Choate, Conway, Ark., five bass, 7-2, $226

Garrett nabbed the biggest bass among Co-angler Division anglers, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $257.

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. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.