Co-angler Crown Goes to Freeman
Arkansas angler wins big at Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Three solid draws and three solid days of adjusting to different areas of the lake helped Arkansas co-angler Zack Freeman earn his second FLW win and his first at the Costa FLW Series level this week at the Sam Rayburn event, which is presented by Mercury.
On day one, Freeman fished with Billy Hurt.
“He told me when we took off that we were gonna catch a ton of fish, and he was all around them. He was right,” says Freeman. “We both had a limit in the first 45 minutes.”
Freeman cast a Zoom Mag 2 Worm in plum apple to hay grass and worked it through the cover to catch 15 pounds, 8 ounces.
The second day, he went flipping in the thick stuff with Dakota Ebare and caught 19-4, which was the biggest co-angler limit of the tournament.
“Yesterday, I had on some 65-pound braid. I brought a big flipping stick. We went in the bushes, and the fish were way back in the bushes. Hooking one was the easy part. Getting them out was the hard part. We still caught a bunch of fish. I had a lot of fun yesterday. The bite was amazing.”
Freeman’s main flipping bait was a Strike King Rage Craw with a 3/4-ounce weight, though he also caught some on a Strike King Rage Bug and a YUM Mighty Worm.
Today, Freeman was paired with eventual pro champ Kris Wilson, who, after catching what he thought he needed to win, took Freeman to some areas to catch winning fish of his own.
Freeman, a welding instructor at University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, says that’s the kind of generosity he experienced with his pros all week.
“He was on and around bigguns – unbelievable,” Freeman says. “I only caught five keepers today. The first fish I caught was probably a 5-pounder. Then I caught a 3-pounder. The third fish I caught was that 7-15. He said, ‘Man, I think you’ve probably got it in three.’ I ended up catching two more little ones to go with it.”
Wilson spent his tournament offshore, so Freeman adapted and caught his fish with a red bug Mighty Worm, to weigh in 18-9.
Among his catch this week, Freeman brought in a 6-4 on day one, 7-10 on day two and 7-15 today.
“I had a big fish every day, and that got me where I am, no doubt,” he says.
Top 10 co-anglers
1. Zack Freeman – Russellville, Ark. – 53-5 (15) – $27,347
2. Alan Moore – Lufkin, Texas – 47-6 (15) – $4,628
3. Steve Phillips – Diboll, Texas – 40-7 (15) – $3,712
4. Charles Dubroc – Hessmer, La. – 37-4 (14) – $3,204
5. Jerry Meece – Lufkin, Texas – 33-13 (15) – $2,997
6. Buddy Hicks – Port Neches, Texas – 33-2 (15) – $2,289
7. Louis Ferguson – Woodville, Texas – 32-15 (15) – $1,831
8. John Hatton – Buna, Texas – 32-9 (13) – $1,602
9. James Callaghan – De Berry, Texas – 32-5 (15) – $1,373
10. Michael Bates – Corsicana, Texas – 27-6 (10) – $1,144