HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Over the past nine years, David Tierney of Fayetteville, Ark., had dreamed of capturing an FLW Tour title. Finally, today, that dream came true. Using a total catch of 31 pounds, 1 ounce, Tierney crushed the competition by more than 5 pounds to secure the trophy he’d been longing for for almost a decade.
“It makes me feel great,” said Tierney. “I’ve wanted to win one of these forever. And to win it on this lake makes it even better.”
However, it wasn’t easy. Although he came into today’s finals with a commanding lead, by mid-afternoon he had boated exactly zero fish.
“I felt pretty good coming into today, but I didn’t feel very good at noon when I didn’t have any fish,” said Tierney, who works full-time as a food ingredient broker. “I was really starting to get worried, but at noon, I finally caught a fish and that made me feel better. And then I caught a 4-pounder at around 1:30 p.m. Once I did that the pressure was really off. My mood changed a lot after that.”
Tierney said that he used a combination of Zoom Brush Hogs, Zoom Speed craws and Zara Spook top-water baits to land the majority of his catch.
“We flipped bushes today and stayed in a fairly concentrated area,” he said. “That’s about all we did. We just stayed shallow all day.”
As for finally getting the victory he’d craved for years?
“This just feels great,” he said. “This is the best win of my career by far. Overall, it was a pretty great day.”
Roberts finishes in runner-up position
On the strength of a 25-pound, 12-ounce catch, Brad Roberts of Nancy, Ky., grabbed second place overall as well as a check for over $9,000.
“It’s just awesome,” said Roberts. “I knew I needed to catch over 10 pounds today to have a shot at the title and I did a little better than that. I actually caught a 2 1/2-pounder on my very last cast and was able to cull with almost no time to spare. Overall, I’m happy.”
Roberts said that he targeted bass with a 10-inch Junebug worm as well as a Cumberland Pro Shakey Head.
“We were basically sitting off the bank in about 12 to 15 feet of water over a little spawning flat,” said Roberts. “That’s how we caught most of our fish.”
Making the final result even more improbable was the fact that Roberts said he had virtually no previous experience fishing Lake Ouachita.
“I didn’t practice here at all. In fact, I haven’t practiced for any (FLW Tour) events all year,” said Roberts. “This is the first time I’ve even seen the lake. So it feels pretty good to do as well as I did.”
Amazingly enough, Roberts now has two second-place finishes this year on the FLW Tour, including a runner-up finish earlier in the year at Table Rock Lake.
Peters nets third
Using a catch of 24 pounds, 6 ounces, Matt Peters of Gainesville, Ga., took third place overall.
“This tournament lined up pretty well for me, but it was definitely a grind out there,” said Peters. “I had the bites to win so it was pretty frustrating at times. But all in all, to be in the top five is great. Overall it was a fantastic week.”
Peters said that he used a combination of Zara Spook top-water baits and Robo Worms to land the majority of his catch.
“I caught them on a little bit of everything,” said Peters. “I’d use a Zara Spook Jr. – that was a key bait in the morning. Then I’d use a drop-shot rigged with a 4-inch Robo worm later in the day. We caught most of our fish offshore on points.”
For his efforts, Peters won $6,800.
Lucy nails down fourth place
Fishing in the very first FLW Tour event of his career, Dakota Lucy of Ulm, Ark., took advantage of the opportunity, gutting out a fourth-place finish after landing a total catch weighing 23 pounds, 8 ounces.
“I didn’t have a limit today until 2 p.m.,” said Lucy. “So I think I did pretty well.”
Lucy said he targeted bass with a combination of Carolina rigs and 6-inch Senkos.
“Every time I was given the opportunity to fish a Carolina rig I’d do well,” said Lucy. “And if I’d caught them on day one I could have won this tournament. But this is my first FLW Tour event and it’s on my home lake. And today I was blessed to catch what I caught. So I’m happy.”
For his efforts, Lucy won $4,500.
Best of the rest
Clent Davis of Montevallo, Ala., rounded out the top-five co-angler finishers after landing a total catch of 22 pounds, 9 ounces. Davis ultimately walked away with $3,600 in winnings.
FLW Tour co-angler competition resumes June 23-26 at Lake Guntersville in Huntsville, Ala.