Afternoon Bite puts Houchin on Top

Conway takes co-angler title on Ouachita

Quincy Houchin of Mabelvale, Arkansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division tournament on Lake Ouachita presented by Navionics. For his victory, Houchin took home $4,359.

Houchin says he started his day casting an umbrella rig with Sexy Shad-colored Keitech swimbaits to rocks along banks on the Ouachita River.

“I had a limit in the boat by 8 a.m.,” says Houchin. “From there, I worked my way back to some mid-lake areas and caught four more keepers in the process. The wind was beginning to pick up and I knew bigger fish would be moving up shallow, so I wanted to target new structure.”

Around noon, Houchin switched things up and focused on mid-lake points using a red Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.

“I caught my four biggest bass after 2 p.m.,” recalls Houchin. “All I had to do was adjust to the weather conditions and I caught some sizeable fish.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Quincy Houchin, Mabelvale, Ark., five bass, 21-6, $4,359

2^nd:         Cody Burke, Bryant, Ark., five bass, 21-1, $2,804

3^rd:          Leland Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., five bass, 16-13, $1,752

4^th:          Scott Hardin, Eads, Tenn., five bass, 16-5, $944

4^th:          Timmy Poe, Bryant, Ark., five bass, 16-5, $944

6^th:          Chris Layton, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 15-10, $799

7^th:          Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 15-6, $726

8^th:          Kyle Henderson, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 15-3, $654

9^th:          Jeremiah Kindy, Benton, Ark., five bass, 14-14, $581

10^th:        Brian Miller, Dardanelle, Ark., five bass, 14-13, $509

Complete results can be found here.  

Burke caught a 7-pound, 14-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division –  and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $625.

Conway wins co-angler title

Jeffery Conway of Mineral Springs, Arkansas, weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to earn $2,442 and win the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Jeffery Conway, Mineral Springs, Ark., five bass, 14-8, $2,442

2^nd:         Josh Tittle, Monticello, Ark., five bass, 11-8, $1,070

3^rd:          Kevin Clark, Malvern, Ark., five bass, 10-7, $712

4^th:          Garrett Jarvis, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 10-2, $499

5^th:          Tommy Rigsby, Lonsdale, Ark., five bass, 9-13, $428

6^th:          Jesse Mitchell, Malvern, Ark., five bass, 9-11, $392

7^th:          Travis Harley, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 9-7, $339

7^th:          John Andrews Jr., Cherry Valley, Ark., four bass, 9-7, $339

9^th:          Josh Ford, Mount Ida, Ark., four bass, 9-1, $285

10^th:        Justin Johnson, Lavaca, Ark., five bass, 8-5, $237

10^th:        Ron Knight, Hot Springs, Ark., three bass, 8-5, $237     

Conway also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 5 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $302.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.