Mahan wins Wal-Mart BFL Arkie Division opener

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Matt Mahan, North Little Rock, Ark., topped 145 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Lake Ouachita with five bass weighing 17 pounds. The catch earned him $3,966 and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Mahan caught his limit, which topped second-place boater Tommy Thompson, Benton, Ark., by 3 ounces, using a green jig. Thompson finished the one-day tournament with a five-bass catch weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces worth $1,983.

Bill Fletcher, Hot Springs, Ark., finished third and collected $1,190 with a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces. He also earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. Mike Brower Jr., Texarkana, Texas, (five bass, 13 pounds, 11 ounces, $952) and Mike Mobley, Benton, Ark., (five bass, 13 pounds, 1 ounce, $872) rounded out the top-five boaters.

Jason Powell, Cabot, Ark., earned boater big bass honors and $725 with a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass that he caught on a Rat-L-Trap near Pollard Creek.

Frank Coble, Conway, Ark., claimed first place and $1,961 in the 139-competitor Co-angler Division with three bass weighing 10 pounds, 9 ounces. He surpassed second-place co-angler Billy Lawrence, Hackett, Ark., by 1 pound, 7 ounces. Lawrence, however, landed just a single bass weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces to capture the No. 2 position and $981. Lawrence also earned co-angler big bass honors and $347.

David Johnston, North Little Rock, Ark. (three bass, 8 pounds, 9 ounces, $588); Chris Martin, White Hall, Ark. (three bass, 7 pounds, 11 ounces, $471); and Jim Cummings, Murfreesboro, Ark. (two bass, 6 pounds, 3 ounces, $431) rounded out the top-five co-anglers.

Overall, seven five-bass limits were caught during the tournament.