Pineville’s Lewis Grabs Co-angler Title

MANY, La. (Oct. 1, 2018) – Boater Joe Beebee of The Woodlands, Texas, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Cowboy Division tournament on Toledo Bend Lake Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 14 ounces. For his win, Beebee netted $5,632.

Beebee spent the event fishing in Housen Bayou, focusing on a mile-long stretch of hydrilla, pepper grass and lily pads where they all mixed together.

“I fished in 2 feet of water or less, but there was deep water nearby – that was key,” said Beebee, who earned his first win in BFL competition. “I primarily caught them on two lures – frogs and Texas rigs.”

Beebee used a Black Shadow-colored Strike King KVD Popping Perch to catch the majority of his fish Saturday. He also caught one keeper on a Texas-rigged, green-pumpkin Xcite Baits Hawgalicious.

“On Sunday there were some shad flickering, so I used the same Strike King frog in white and caught a 3½-pounder right off of the bat,” said Beebee. “Soon after that I picked up a (Green Tree-colored Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye 65) frog and caught a 6-pounder – my biggest of the tournament.”

Beebee said the frog bite subsided following the big catch, so he slowed down and started fishing hydrilla off of the bank. He used the same Texas-rigged Xcite Baits Hawgalicious and finished out his limit, culling once in the process.

“I used a 7-foot, 4-inch extra-heavy Impulse Original Series rod and a Shimano Curado (200XG) reel and they were key for me, especially getting that 6-pounder out of the lily pads.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:           Joe Beebee, The Woodlands, Texas, 10 bass, 27-14, $5,632

2^nd:         Travis Kelehan, Lafayette, La., 10 bass, 27-1, $2,816

3^rd:          Glen Freeman, Zwolle, La., 10 bass, 27-0, $2,077

4^th:          Darold Gleason, Many, La., 10 bass, 26-15, $1,414

5^th:          Thomas McMillan, Choudrant, La., 10 bass, 25-15, $1,126

6^th:          Stephen Reitzell, Colfax, La., 10 bass, 25-5, $1,033

7^th:          Kevin Lasyone, Dry Prong, La., seven bass, 24-1, $939

8^th:          Derrick Fontenot, Krotz Springs, La., 10 bass, 23-15, $845

9^th:          Jame Dubroc, Bunkie, La., nine bass, 23-2, $751

10^th:        Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 22-11, $657

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Dwight Abshire of Santa Fe, Texas, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $735.

Russell Lewis of Pineville, Louisiana, caught a two-day total of seven bass weighing 20 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $3,183.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:           Russell Lewis, Pineville, La., seven bass, 20-3, $3,183

2^nd:         Craig Strickland, Lumberton, Texas, eight bass, 18-10, $1,408

3^rd:          Randy Pewthers, Pearland, Texas, seven bass, 18-1, $1,141

4^th:          Fred Martin, North Little Rock, Ark., eight bass, 17-12, $707

5^th:          Bobbie Moore, Temple, Texas, five bass, 16-8, $563

6^th:          Lindy Hadley, Sam Rayburn, Texas, six bass  , 16-3, $516

7^th:          Douglas Littleton, New Caney, Texas, seven bass, 16-0, $469

8^th:          Ben Faucheaux, Natchitoches, La., eight bass, 15-15, $422

9^th:          Elbia Ebert, Porter, Texas, five bass  , 14-8, $375

10^th:        James Callaghan, De Berry, Texas, seven bass, 13-7, $329

Lewis also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $367.

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. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. 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 2018 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 2019 BFL All-American will take place May 30-June 1 on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland.

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, YouTube and Snapchat.