RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (Feb. 20, 2017) – Matt Wood of Jessieville, Arkansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the first Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division tournament on Lake Dardanelle. For his win, Wood took home $4,046.
“I was entered in this event as a co-angler, and I decided to switch over and compete as a boater on Friday morning, the day before the event,” said Wood, who had previously fished one season as a co-angler in BFL competition. “I knew that there were more co-anglers on the waiting list, and I had a pretty good practice so I figured I’d take a shot. I still can’t believe I won.”
Wood said that he fished the entire day at just one spot – a dock which had some brush and cover nearby.
“The bass were after baitfish, and the wind was blowing perfectly to pin the bait against the dock and brush,” Wood said. “There were a ton of bass – I must have caught around 20 to 25 keepers.”
Wood said he caught his fish on just two baits – a Strike King Red Eye Shad crankbait and a white Strike King Pure Poison swimjig with a white Yum Swim’n Dinger.
“The Red Eye Shad was what I caught my bigger fish on,” Wood went on to say. “The key was fishing it super-fast and triggering a reaction bite.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Matt Wood, Jessieville, Ark., five bass, 21-2, $4,046
2nd: Cody Burke, Bryant, Ark., five bass, 20-4, $2,023
3rd: Zach King, Clarksville, Ark., five bass, 18-15, $1,348
4th: Steve Howard, Conway, Ark., five bass, 18-4, $944
5th: Zack Freeman, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 17-7, $1,009
6th: Rick Ellis, Cabot, Ark., five bass, 16-1, $842
7th: Jeremiah Jordan, Dover, Ark., five bass, 15-14, $674
8th: Israel Mills, Donaldson, Ark., five bass, 15-9, $607
9th: Jonathan Dotson, Dover, Ark., four bass, 14-12, $539
10th: Daniel Standridge, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 14-4, $472
Randall Clark of Little Rock, Arkansas, caught a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $555. Johnny Crider of Fulton, Arkansas, weighed in four bass totaling 16 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,300.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Johnny Crider, Fulton, Ark., four bass, 16-10, $2,300
2nd: Jason Wedel, Lowell, Ark., five bass, 11-9, $1,011
3rd: Brian Choat, Conway, Ark., five bass, 11-0, $874
4th: Kevin Clark, Malvern, Ark., five bass, 10-9, $488
4th: Jim Cummings, Murfreesboro, Ark., three bass, 10-9, $438
6th: Herbert Kimbrough, North Little Rock, Ark., four bass, 10-5, $371
7th: Steve Standridge, Conway, Ark., three bass, 10-4, $337
8th: Michael Lucas, Forrest City, Ark., four bass, 9-8, $303
9th: Buddy Rudolph, Hot Springs, Ark., four bass, 8-9, $253
9th: Bryan Branson, Hensley, Ark., three bass, 8-9, $253
Crider also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $277.