Bowling Top Dog on Broken Bow
Hooker wins co-angler title
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 fished offshore toward the southeast end of the lake.
“I only fished one ledge that was about 200-yards long,” says 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 minutes, and after I returned she bit on the second cast,” Bowling continues. “It was one of those ‘being in the right place at the right time’ kind of deals.”
Bowling 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,” says 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,” says 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:
1st: John Bowling, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 19-8, $4,440 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Brandon Snow, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 15-4, $1,773
3rd: Christopher Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., five bass, 13-8, $1,281
4th: Mark Shadowens, Kiefer, Okla., five bass, 13-2, $827
5th: Darin Crowder, Claremore, Okla., five bass, 13-0, $709
6th: Trevis Unger, Towanda, Kan., five bass, 12-13, $650
7th: Mason Spencer, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 12-9, $591
8th: Brent Haggard, Gans, Okla., five bass, 11-13, $532
9th: Nick Kincaid, Coweta, Okla., five bass, 11-12, $593
9th: 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.
Hooker wins co-angler title
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:
1st: Sanford Hooker, Wellston, Okla., five bass , 11-0, $1,773
2nd: Shane McGlothlin, Anadarko, Okla., five bass, 10-11, $1,086
3rd: Alan Hill, Ada, Okla., five bass, 10-4, $591
4th: Darin Comstock, Denison, Texas, five bass, 10-3, $414
5th: Michael Shinstine, Springdale, Ark., four bass, 9-14, $355
6th: Colton Johnson, Allen, Okla., four bass, 9-10, $310
6th: Jackie Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 9-10, $310
8th: Dalton French, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 9-6, $266
9th: Rick Blosser, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 9-5, $286
10th: 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.