Wellston’s Hooker Claims Co-Angler Title

BROKEN BOW, Okla. (June 24, 2019) – Local boater John Bowling of Broken Bow won Saturday’s T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division tournament on Broken Bow Lake after catching five bass weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces. For his win, Bowling earned $6,440.

Bowling said he fished offshore ledges toward the southeast end of the lake.

“I only fished one ledge that was about 200-yards long,” said Bowling, whose win came in his first-ever event with FLW. “I didn’t catch a fish until noon, but put an 11-pounder in the boat around 1:45 p.m.

“I had let the ledge sit for five to 10 mins, and after I returned she bit on the second cast,” Bowling continued. “It was one of those ‘being in the right place at the right time’ kind of deals.”

Bowling said he used a ¾-ounce PB&J-colored Buckeye Lures Mop jig with a green-pumpkin Strike King Rage Tail Craw trailer and caught a total of six fish.

“I was fishing deep – 23 to 24 feet down,” said Bowling. “I also used a one-ounce version of the jig to get down there because of wind.”

Bowling threw the jig on a 7-foot, 4-inch Duckett Triad Series heavy-action casting rod and a Lew’s Super Duty Wide Speed Spool reel with 20-pound-test Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line.

“I couldn’t have done it without my Lowrance electronics, they helped me find the fish,” said Bowling. “The Spot Lock feature on my Minn Kota Ultrex was also crucial, as it held me in place when the wind picked up.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          John Bowling, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 19-8, $4,440 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Brandon Snow, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 15-4, $1,773

3^rd:          Christopher Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., five bass, 13-8, $1,281

4^th:          Mark Shadowens, Kiefer, Okla., five bass, 13-2, $827

5^th:          Darin Crowder, Claremore, Okla., five bass, 13-0, $709

6^th:          Trevis Unger, Towanda, Kan., five bass, 12-13, $650

7^th:          Mason Spencer, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 12-9, $591

8^th:          Brent Haggard, Gans, Okla., five bass, 11-13, $532

9^th:          Nick Kincaid, Coweta, Okla., five bass, 11-12, $593

9^th:          Chris Ogan, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 11-12, $443

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Bowling’s big bass weighed 11 pounds, 3 ounces and was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $445.

Sanford Hooker of Wellston, Oklahoma, won the Co-angler Division and $1,773 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Sanford Hooker, Wellston, Okla., five bass      , 11-0, $1,773

2^nd:         Shane McGlothlin, Anadarko, Okla., five bass, 10-11, $1,086

3^rd:          Alan Hill, Ada, Okla., five bass, 10-4, $591

4^th:          Darin Comstock, Denison, Texas, five bass, 10-3, $414

5^th:          Michael Shinstine, Springdale, Ark., four bass, 9-14, $355

6^th:          Colton Johnson, Allen, Okla., four bass, 9-10, $310

6^th:          Jackie Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 9-10, $310

8^th:          Dalton French, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 9-6, $266

9^th:          Rick Blosser, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 9-5, $286

10^th:        Dalton Ross, Cave Springs, Ark., five bass, 9-4, $207

Leroy Sheperd of Mountain View, Oklahoma, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 7 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $222.

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. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in Buchanan, Tennessee, presented by Evinrude. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 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 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. 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, and YouTube.