Oklahoma Angler Takes Home $80,167 including New Ranger Boat

Link to photo of tournament champion Jeff Reynolds

DENISON, Texas (Sept. 23, 2017) – Boater Jeff Reynolds of Calera, Oklahoma, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division tournament on Lake Texoma presented by Frabill. Reynolds’ three-day total of 15 bass weighing 51 pounds, 9 ounces was enough to earn him $80,167, including a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

“I put a lot of work into preparing for this event,” said Reynolds, who earned his first career-victory in FLW Series competition. “The payday means more than anything to me right now. I’m building a house and we have a baby on the way, so any money helps.

“I played the wind a lot this week – it was one of the biggest factors in where I decided to fish,” continued Reynolds. “On Day One it was blowing really hard so I stayed shallow. On Day Two it was a bit lighter so I was able to catch some out deep. On Day Three, it was so calm that all but one came from deep water.”

Reynolds said his most productive bait up shallow was a Heddon Super Spook topwater. He said his shallow areas were primarily on the main lake.

“I focused on flat points and banks with rock, sand and clay,” said Reynolds. “The biggest key was the shad. If I could find shad pushed up on the flats, I knew I could catch them.”

For the deep bite, Reynolds worked through stumps, brush and rock piles with a Texas-rigged green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Trick Worm with a ½-ounce weight.

“I had deeper areas both on the main lake and in pockets,” said Reynolds “Some keepers came as shallow as 10 feet, but most were 20 to 25 feet down.”

The top 10 pros on Lake Texoma finished:

1st: Jeff Reynolds, Calera, Okla., 15 bass, 51-9, $80,167

2nd: Don McFarlin, Gordonville, Texas, 15 bass, 47-1, $13,627

3rd: T.R. Andreas, Kerrville, Texas, 15 bass, 44-6, $10,750

4th: Alton Wilhoit, Noble, Okla., 15 bass, 44-6, $8,892

5th: Kevin Gressett, Tioga, Texas, 15 bass, 43-2, $7,913

6th: Hayden Burkett, Bokchito, Okla., 15 bass, 42-7, $7,033

7th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 15 bass, 42-7, $6,154

8th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, 15 bass, 41-7, $5,275

9th: Brandon Mosley, Choctaw, Okla., 15 bass, 40-13, $4,396

10th: Ricci Head, Shawnee, Okla., 11 bass, 37-14, $3,517

A complete list of results will be posted at FLWFishing.com.

Joe Lane of Republic, Missouri, caught a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass Thursday – the biggest of the tournament in the Boater Division. For his catch, Lane earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $242.

Dan Wilson of Pilot Point, Texas, won the Co-angler Division, $5,000 and a new Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard motor. Wilson earned his win with a three-day total catch of 15 bass weighing 37 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Texoma finished:

1st: Dan Wilson, Pilot Point, Texas, 15 bass, 37-15, $27,200 + $5,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2nd: Daren Scott, Aledo, Texas, 12 bass, 35-0, $4,588

3rd: Rick Parker, Kaufman, Texas, 14 bass, 31-12, $3,541

4th: J.C. Thompson, Calera, Okla., 11 bass, 27-7, $3,099

5th: Joe Copeland, Roff, Okla., 10 bass, 26-13, $2,656

6th: Andrew Brandstrom, White Bear Lake, Minn., 10 bass, 25-11, $2,263

7th: Chris Weaver, Lawton, Okla., 11 bass, 21-14, $1,771

8th: Chad Witten, Elgin, Okla., 10 bass, 21-2, $1,549

9th: Hugh Rose, Davis, Okla., nine bass, 20-15, $1,328

10th: Bruce Jones, Arlington, Texas, eight bass, 20-2, $1,107

Chris Jeffery caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – a fish weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $161.

The Costa FLW Series on Lake Texoma presented by Frabill was hosted by the Denison Area Chamber of Commerce. It was the third and final Southwestern Division tournament of the 2017 season. The next Costa FLW Series event will be a Western Division tournament, held Sept. 28-30 on Clear Lake in Lakeport, California. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee, and is hosted by the Henry County Tourism Authority.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.