MUSKOGEE, Okla. (March 30, 2015) – Brandon Mosley of Choctaw, Oklahoma, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Okie Division tournament the Arkansas River. For his victory, Mosley earned $5,349.
“These tournaments are pretty hard to win, even at the amateur level,” said Mosley. “I was thrilled to earn top honors.”
Mosley said that he began his day fishing between the locks en route to Kerr Lake. He threw a sexy shad-colored Strike King Rage Tail Shad and netted his first four keepers around 10:30 a.m. At noon, Mosley arrived at his second spot near Kerr in the mid-lake area. He said he targeted spawning fish in the shallow water.
“It’s river fishing. And the key to river fishing is that it doesn’t involve a special technique,” Mosley said. “I just went out there and threw to natural cover like branches and stumps.”
Mosley ended up catching 20 keepers, including four he brought to the scale on a chartreuse-colored spinnerbait.
“Everything came together when I was there on Saturday,” Mosley said. “During practice I figured I could get 14 to 16 pounds at this spot during the tournament. But the more I caught, the bigger the fish would get.
“I had no idea I was nearing a 20-pound stringer,” Mosley continued. “The catch was fast, furious and unexpected.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Brandon Mosley, Choctaw, Okla., five bass, 19-13, $5,349
2nd: Matthew Salyer, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 19-4, $2,675
3rd: Clayton Coppin, Grove, Okla., five bass, 18-14, $1,782
4th: James Scott, Norman, Okla., five bass, 17-4, $1,248
5th: Larry Crouch, Carthage, Mo., five bass, 16-11, $1,070
6th: Ray Stagner, Tulsa, Okla., five bass , 16-10, $981
7th: Cameron Pappan, Winfield, Kan., five bass, 16-5, $892
8th: Shannon Prophet, Muskogee, Okla., five bass, 16-4, $802
9th: Alton Wilhoit, Harrah, Okla., five bass, 15-14, $713
10th: David Ryan, Levasy, Mo., five bass, 15-6, $624
Stewart Ryan of Ada, Oklahoma, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $850. Rick Dawes of Coweta, Oklahoma, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $2,675 in the co-angler division. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Rick Dawes, Coweta, Okla., five bass, 18-9, $2,675
2nd: Bob Keeth, Dixon, Mo., five bass, 15-10, $1,337
3rd: Harry Segress, Vinita, Okla., five bass, 13-15, $891
4th: Beau Govreau, Cedar Hill, Mo., five bass, 13-14, $624
5th: Ben Blaschke, Muldrow, Okla., four bass, 10-3, $535
6th: Ronnie White, Gore, Okla., three bass, 9-15, $490
7th: Justin Kannady, Pocola, Okla., three bass, 9-11, $446
8th: Steven Dowty, Claremore, Okla., three bass, 9-10, $379
8th: Albert McCutchan, Tahlequah, Okla., three bass, 9-10, $379
10th: Jim McDevitt, Eldon, Mo., three bass, 8-12, $296
Dawes also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $425.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.