Benton’s Delaney Takes Co-angler Title

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (Sept. 25, 2017) – Local angler Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, weighed a two-day cumulative of 10 bass totaling 20 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division tournament on Lake Hamilton presented by Geared. Shuffield took home $5,277 for his efforts.

According to post-tournament reports, Shuffield caught his fish on a buzzbait in less than 2 feet of water.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 20-8, $5,277

2^nd:         Fred Martin, North Little Rock, Ark., 10 bass, 18-1, $2,939

3^rd:          Justin Swayze, Gurdon, Ark., eight bass, 17-14, $2,331

4^th:          Matt Wood, Jessieville, Ark., 10 bass, 17-9, $1,185

5^th:          Huey Applegate, Jessieville, Ark., nine bass, 17-0, $1,015

6^th:          Leland Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 10 bass, 16-12, $931

7^th:          Danny Gwinn, Mount Ida, Ark., 10 bass, 16-1, $846

8^th:          Jake Ormond, Sterlington, La., 10 bass, 16-1, $762

9^th:          Dustin Huggins, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 16-0, $677

10^th:        Jamey Black, Sheridan, Ark., 10 bass, 15-6, $592

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Swayze caught a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $637.

Trevor Delaney of Benton, Arkansas, caught a two-day total of 10 bass bass weighing 18 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,539.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Trevor Delaney, Benton, Ark., 10 bass, 18-7, $2,539

2^nd:         Steve Standridge, Conway, Ark., seven bass, 13-4, $1,269

3^rd:          Michael Lucas, Forrest City, Ark., seven bass, 12-5, $846

4^th:          Jody Jones, Harvey, Ark., eight bass, 11-0, $592

5^th:          Rod Martinez, Benton, Ark., seven bass, 10-12, $608

6^th:          Mark Stevens, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 10-8, $784

7^th:          Stephen  Simms, Hot Springs, Ark., eight bass, 10-4, $423

8^th:          Jerry Tabler, Mineral Springs, Ark., seven bass, 9-15, $431

9^th:          Steven Sherrill, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 9-1, $339

10^th:        Joey Taylor, Benton, Ark., seven bass, 8-10, $296

Stevens caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 11 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $319.

The T-H Marine FLW BFL Arkie Division tournament on Lake Hamilton was hosted by Visit Hot Springs.

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. 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.