El Reno’s Ezell tops Co-angler Division

WAGONER, Okla. (June 19, 2017) – Boater Brett Brumnett of Wagoner, Oklahoma, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division event on Fort Gibson Lake. Brumnett took home $4,507 for his victory.

“I started out fishing 6 to 8 miles north of takeoff, on the upper end of the lake,” said Brumnett, who earned his first career victory in BFL competition. “About 20 minutes in I caught a 4-pounder on a football jig, but after another hour or so I couldn’t get a bite. So, I started making my way back down the lake.

“I noticed that they were pulling water, so I went and hit a couple of points that had some big wood on it,” Brumnett continued. “I was throwing a chartreuse and white (Strike King) spinnerbait with gold Colorado blades and I ended up catching a 6½-pounder at my first spot. When I caught that one I figured that is what I needed to be doing.”

Brumnett said that he fished shallow for the rest of the afternoon, targeting fish that were feeding on shad around big wood and bushes. He said that he ended up catching seven keepers on the spinnerbait.

“Near the end I came down close to the check-in and got out on a ledge,” Brumnett said. “I picked the football jig back up and caught a nice one with about 10 minutes to go. That fish won me the tournament.”

Brumnett said his jig that caught his first and last fish was a peanut butter and jelly-colored Jewel Football jig with a Gene Larew Biffle Bug trailer.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Brett Brumnett, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 19-7, $4,507

2^nd:         James Marsh, Thomas, Okla., five bass, 19-2, $2,253

3^rd:         Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., five bass, 17-13, $1,702

4^th:         Ed Barton, Vian, Okla., five bass, 17-7, $1,152

5^th:         Keith Hays, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 17-2, $901

6^th:         Brad Lankford, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 16-14, $826

7^th:         Christopher Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., five bass, 16-8, $751

8^th:         Paul Loveland, Grove, Okla., five bass, 15-15, $676

9^th:         Travis McKelvey, Jenks, Okla., five bass, 15-9, $601

10^th:       Rick Kelley, Ada, Okla., five bass, 15-6, $526

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Don Benson of Eufaula, Oklahoma, caught a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass, which was the heaviest of the tournament in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $655.

Chastin Ezell of El Reno, Oklahoma, weighed in five bass totaling 19 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and the top prize of $2,253.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Chastin Ezell, El Reno, Okla., five bass, 19-1, $2,253

2^nd:         Justin Catcher, Park Hill, Okla., four bass, 16-1, $1,454

3^rd:         David Lansford, Muskogee, Okla., four bass, 15-11, $751

4^th:         Colten Hutson, Edmond, Okla., five bass, 14-15, $526

5^th:         Cord Colwell, Pryor, Okla., three bass, 12-5, $651

6^th:         Chris Rinehart, Mustang, Okla., five bass, 12-4, $394

6^th:         Cameron Foster, Wagoner, Okla., four bass, 12-4, $394

8^th:         David Bowen, Chouteau, Okla., five bass, 11-14, $338

9^th:         Steve Bradfield, Claremore, Okla., five bass, 11-11, $300

10^th:       Alex Lane, Ada, Okla., five bass, 11-8, $263

Catcher weighed a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass which also earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award and $327.

The T-H Marine BFL at Fort Gibson Lake was hosted by the Wagoner Area Chamber of Commerce.

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.