GROVE, Okla. (Sept. 19, 2016) – Benjamin King of Garnett, Kansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 2 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division Super Tournament on Grand Lake, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 7 ounces. King pocketed $8,349 for his victory.
King said he split his tournament between two patterns – dragging a worm near flats with docks and flipping a creature bait to willows. He said his areas were spread out between Sailboat Bridge and Drowning Creek.
“I used a Mesu Baits Shaky-Head Jig with a worm on the flats, and I flipped a green-pumpkin Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in the willows,” said King, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “I dragged the worm on the bottom from 6 inches to 2 feet of water.”
King said he moved a lot, fishing 15 to 20 areas each day of the event.
“I kept running because I wasn’t catching much,” said King. “The first day I had five keeper bites, and the second day I had six.”
King said his Ardent Apex Elite reel and 7’6” Medium-Heavy Ardent Edge rod were essential to his victory.
“The Ardent equipment was really the difference maker for me,” said King. “It loaded up well, even with that little bait. I felt like I could cast a mile. If I saw one blow up on the flats, I was able to reach it.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Benjamin King, Garnett, Kan., 10 bass, 29-7, $6,349 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Sawyer Grace, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 27-8, $3,175
3rd: Chris Torkleson, Sand Springs, Okla., nine bass, 27-5, $2,317
4th: Cade Alsbury, Cave Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 26-6, $1,481
5th: Ryan Wilbanks, Wagoner, Okla., nine bass, 26-3, $1,270
6th: Brandon Mosley, Choctaw, Okla., 10 bass, 25-14, $1,164
7th: Sean McAllister, Checotah, Okla., 10 bass, 24-12, $1,058
8th: Joel Baker, Talala, Okla., 10 bass, 24-8, $1,052
9th: Brett Stearnes, Joplin, Mo., nine bass, 24-3, $1,732
10th: Spencer Grace, Dardanelle, Ark., 10 bass, 22-15, $741
Stearnes caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $885. Jason Sandidge of Centerton, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and earned $3,175 with a two-day cumulative catch of eight bass weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jason Sandidge, Centerton, Ark., eight bass, 20-6, $3,175
2nd: Steve Bradfield, Claremore, Okla., six bass, 15-13, $1,808
3rd: Justin Lillie, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 13-15, $1,059
4th: Chris Zins, Oklahoma City, Okla., four bass, 12-8, $741
5th: Justin Newell, Muskogee, Okla., four bass, 11-1, $635
6th: Dick Hindman, Sapulpa, Okla., four bass, 10-15, $582
7th: Kyle Pride, Skiatook, Okla., five bass, 10-11, $529
8th: Marc Logan, Jones, Okla., three bass, 10-2, $476
9th: Paul Loveland, Grove, Okla., three bass, 9-9, $644
10th: Luke Frazier, Skiatook, Okla., four bass, 9-8, $570
Bradfield caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $221.