GROVE, Okla. (Sept. 9, 2019) – Boater Mark Shadowens of Kiefer, Oklahoma, won the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division tournament on Grand Lake Sunday after catching a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 3 ounces. For his finish, Shadowens pocketed $5,704. Shadowens said he caught nine of the 10 fish he weighed on a green pumpkin-colored Zoom Magnum Trick Worm on a 5/16-ounce homemade wobblehead.
“I was fishing boat docks in 5 to 10 feet of water in the Horse Creek arm of the lake,” said Shadowens, who notched his first career win in FLW competition. “I had two areas that were about 50 yards apiece, and I just rotated back and forth between them for two days.
“I caught fish on the backs of the docks and I caught them on the front of them,” continued Shadowens. “I caught six keepers each day – about a bite every hour. It was just kind of random where they were sitting. It didn’t matter the time of day.”
Shadowens said he weighed all largemouth, including one he caught on a ½-ounce custom brown jig with a 3½-inch green pumpkin Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw trailer.
My [7-foot, 2-inch medium-heavy] Falcon BuCoo [SR Casting] rod was a big part of my catch. The bite was pretty subtle and it helped me feel them and get them in the boat.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Mark Shadowens, Kiefer, Okla., 10 bass, 29-3, $5,704
2nd: Joel Baker, Talala, Okla., 10 bass, 28-0, $2,852
3rd: Shonn Goodwin, Moore, Okla., 10 bass, 27-10, $2,085
4th: Ed Barton, Vian, Okla., 10 bass, 27-4, $1,284
5th: Steven McLarty, Broken Arrow, Okla., eight bass, 26-12, $1,806
6th: Thomas Canady, Collinsville, Okla., 10 bass, 25-13, $1,159
7th: John Shore, Owasso, Okla., 10 bass, 24-5, $917
8th: Trevis Unger, Towanda, Kan., 10 bass, 22-11, $826
9th: Mick Fenn, Grove, Okla., nine bass, 22-6, $734
10th: James Marsh, Thomas, Okla., 10 bass, 22-4, $642
McLarty caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $705. Bryant Bradford of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, won the Co-angler Division and $3,102 Sunday after catching a two-day total of eight bass weighing 21 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Bryant Bradford, Oklahoma City, Okla., eight bass, 21-5, $3,102
2nd: Steve Bradfield, Claremore, Okla., seven bass, 20-1, $1,376
3rd: Bryan Schuster, Oklahoma City, Okla., eight bass, 18-0, $1,068
4th: Blayke Haggard, Gans, Okla., eight bass, 17-13, $642
5th: Harold Frazier, Okmulgee, Okla., seven bass , 16-3, $550
6th: Steven Whitaker, Sallisaw, Okla., six bass, 16-0, $505
7th: Matthew Palesano, Chickasha, Okla., six bass, 15-14, $459
8th: Cord Colwell, Pryor, Okla., six bass, 15-10, $413
9th: Nathan Colwell, Pryor, Okla., six bass, 14-9, $367
10th: Jonathan Jones, Grain Valley, Mo., four bass, 13-4, $321
Scott Suver of South Greenfield, Missouri, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $352.