Grace grabs Dardanelle title
Taylor tops co-angler division
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Sawyer Grace of Russellville, Ark., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds even Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League Arkie Division tournament of 2014 on Lake Dardanelle. For his victory, Grace earned $3,632.
“I ran up the river to start,” said Grace, a student at Arkansas Tech University. “I fished a Booyah Poppin’ Pad Crasher frog over a key stretch of pads that was a little bit deeper than usual. I caught four fish in the first few hours and then moved out to some deep drops.”
Grace said that he finished his limit with a Texas-rigged plum-colored Yum F2 Ribbontail Worm that he dragged over drops with brush on them in 8 to 15 feet of water.
“I think I only caught seven keepers all day,” said Grace. “It felt pretty good to win. I’m only 20 years old and to be able to win at such a young age is pretty cool.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros:
2nd: Duke Gunnell, Bee Branch, Ark., five bass, 21-11, $1,816
3rd: Ronald Mounts, Hoxie, Ark., five bass, 18-6, $1,210
4th: Paul Helton, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 17-9, $847 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
5th: Shawn Gordon, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 17-4, $726
6th: Will Cranston, N. Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 16-9, $666
7th: Jason Lieblong, Conway, Ark., five bass, 15-10, $605
8th: Mike Rhinehart, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 15-3, $545
9th: Zach King, Clarksville, Ark., five bass, 14-11, $484
10th: Randy Brickell, Royal, Ark., five bass, 14-6, $424
Complete results can be found here.
Taylor wins co-angler division
Dayton Taylor of Beebe, Ark., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win $1,816 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Dale Clark, Malvern, Ark., five bass, 15-13, $908
3rd: Bob West, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 14-7, $606
4th: Roderick Gripe, Bella Vista, Ark., four bass, 13-5, $424
5th: Tim Morris, Redfield, Ark., four bass, 11-5, $363
6th: Tom Olson, Benton, Ark., four bass, 10-9, $333
7th: Larry Carter, Little Rock, Ark., three bass, 9-1, $303
8th: Chris Pursley, Russellville, Ark., three bass, 8-13, $272
9th: Larry Johnson, Lavaca, Ark., four bass, 8-9, $242
10th: Robert Scott, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 8-5, $212
Complete co-angler results can be found here.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 16-18 Regional Championship on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper, Texas. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.