Oklahoma’s Colwell Tops Co-angler Division

BOSSIER CITY, La. (Oct. 23, 2017) – Boater Jason Sandidge of Centerton, Arkansas, caught a three-day cumulative total of 15 bass weighing 31 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional event on the Red River presented by Quaker State. Sandidge netted $65,000 for his win, including a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and an automatic berth into the 2018 BFL All-American Championship.

Sandidge said he spent the event working through a 50-yard stretch of water near the takeoff ramp, and that he caught around eight to 10 keepers a day.

“The spot was basically a logjam that toppled into a ditch,” said Sandidge, who earned his first career victory as a boater in BFL competition. “The ditch led into backwaters, and the fish used it as a highway. The logjam resembled a point and it was the first place they could stop and feed before they went shallow. There were some shad there as well.”

Sandidge primarily flipped a green-pumpkin and blue-sapphire-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw, adding that he dipped the pincers in chartreuse dye.

“I think the area held up because it was near deep water,” said Sandidge. “It was able to reload quickly, which was key.”

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2018 BFL All-American were:

1^st:          Jason Sandidge, Centerton, Ark., 15 bass, 31-12, $65,000

2^nd:         Randy Deaver, Blanchard, La., 15 bass, 30-7, $10,200

3^rd:          Ben Blaschke, Muldrow, Okla., 15 bass, 29-10, $5,000

4^th:          Randy Despino, Colfax, La., 14 bass, 26-5, $3,100

5^th:          John Shore, Owasso, Okla., 11 bass, 23-1, $2,000

6^th:          Nick Lebrun, Bossier City, La., 11 bass, 23-0, $1,800

Rounding out the top-10 boaters were:

7^th:          Samuel Jenkins, Abita Springs, La., 14 bass, 23-0, $1,600

8^th:          Austin Parker, Broken Arrow, Okla., 13 bass, 21-7, $1,400

9^th:          James Marsh, Thomas, Okla., 12 bass, 21-5, $1,200

10^th:        Ed Barton, Vian, Okla., nine bass, 19-11, $1,000

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Nathan Colwell of Pryor, Oklahoma, won the Co-angler Division and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard with a three-day cumulative total of nine bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2018 BFL All-American were:

1^st:          Nathan Colwell, Pryor, Okla., nine bass, 17-5, $45,200

2^nd:         Jack Stegall, Carriere, Miss., 10 bass, 16-12, $5,050

3^rd:          Bobby Call, Wagoner, Okla., eight bass, 15-9, $2,500

4^th:          Cord Colwell, Pryor, Okla., five bass, 14-8, $1,500

5^th:          Keith Whipple, Iuka, Miss., six bass, 14-5, $1,000

6^th:          Mike Allen, Crystal Springs, Miss., five bass, 12-11, $900

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers were:

7^th:          James Callaghan, De Berry, Texas, six bass, 12-8, $800

8^th:          Brian Choate, Conway, Ark., eight bass, 12-3, $700

9^th:          Steve Standridge, Conway, Ark., five bass, 11-7, $600

10^th:        Daniel Corkern, Florence, Miss., seven bass, 10-12, $500

The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League Regional Tournament on the Red River was hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier City Sports Commission.

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.

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