ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (Oct. 26, 2009) - Kevin Brown of Malvern, Ark., won the Bass Fishing League DeGray Lake Regional Bass Fishing Championship Saturday with a three-day 13-bass catch weighing 35 pounds, 8 ounces. The victory earned Brown a Ranger 198VX boat with a choice of a 200 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha motor and a Chevrolet 1500 Silverado. The win also helped him qualify for the 2010 BFL All-American where he could ultimately win a top prize of $140,000 and a trip to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.
"Man, it really hasn't set in yet," said Brown. "It's unreal. I've never won anything like that.
"I based my practice around throwing a jig," Brown added. "I started out the first morning and had to deal with rain and wind and I changed up my approach a little bit. I caught one of my keepers and some slot fish on a spinnerbait. Then I finally got the weather I wanted and had to swing for the fences the last two days."
Brown said he caught the majority of his fish on 1/2- and 5/8-ounce jigs targeting brush around rocks 20 to 25 feet deep and 1-ounce jigs around trash and channel swings in 30 to 40 feet of water. Brown said all of his jigs were some variation of green pumpkin.
Brown's father, Don, finished sixth on the boater side in the DeGray Lake Regional Championship. Both father and son now have qualified for the 2010 BFL All-American.
"It's unreal," Brown said. "I can't wait until it comes around. Getting to fish the All-American with my dad is just incredible."
Rounding out the top five boaters are Dennis Berhorst of Holts Summit, Mo. (11 bass, 28-6, $3,000); Dennis Forbes of Medicine Lodge, Kansas (11 bass, 25-13, $1,500); Keith Green of Arkadelphia, Ark. (14 bass, 25-4, $1,200); and Shonn Goodwin of Moore, Okla. (13 bass, 24-10, $1,100).
Jeremy Rasnick of Point Lookout, Mo., won a Ranger 198VX boat with a choice of a 200 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha motor as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to eight bass weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are David Hamilton of Rogers, Ark. (six bass, 14-1, $1,500); James Moore Jr. of Lampasas, Texas (nine bass, 13-6, $750); John Laster of Oklahoma City, Okla. (five bass, 12-3, $600); and Ronnie Green of Keithville, La. (six bass, 11-7, $550).