HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (Sept. 23, 2013) – Mark Hensiek of Humnoke, Ark., weighed in a two-day total of nine bass totaling 21 pounds, 6 ounces Sunday to win the Bass Fishing League Arkie Division super tournament on Lake Hamilton. For his victory, Hensiek earned $3,971.
Hensiek flipped a jig for his second BFL-level win and outdistanced the field by nearly 3 pounds on a stingy Lake Hamilton.
“Practice for me was tough,” said Hensiek. “But I started flipping docks and caught a few, so that was my plan.
“Saturday I started out on the main lake throwing a topwater bait and I caught one fish,” continued Hensiek. “I had three other areas to fish, but each had a boat on it, so I went up the lake and into a pocket and started throwing a jig.
“I was alternating,” said Hensiek. “Sometimes I would swim the jig past a pole and kill it, and I caught some just dragging the jig on the bottom. I think by fishing a jig I got better quality bites than some other guys.
“The second day I did the exact same thing,” relayed Hensiek. “I stuck with the jig and caught all my fish in 10 feet or less. I was going to live and die with that jig.”
Hensiek said he used a brown-colored 3/4-ounce Omega football jig with a Yamamoto Double Tail Grub and a 3/8-ounce Strike King swim jig with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw. Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Adam Wright, Benton, Ark., 10 bass, 18-10, $1,985
3rd: Joel Newman, North Little Rock, Ark., eight bass, 17-8, $1,324
4th: Steve Miller, Belleville, Ark., 10 bass, 17-5, $927
5th: James Stricklin Jr., Hot Springs, Ark., eight bass, 16-0, $794
6th: Huey Applegate, Jessieville, Ark., seven bass, 15-6, $728
7th: Kyle Landers, Benton, Ark., 10 bass, 15-4, $662 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
8th: Leon Stone, Horatio, Ark., nine bass, 14-13, $596
9th: Randy Brickell, Royal, Ark., nine bass, 12-15, $529
10th: Mike Scoggins, Danville, Ark., five bass, 9-3, $463
Pete Clark of Malvern, Ark., weighed in a two-day total of eight bass totaling 14 pounds, 7 ounces Sunday to win $1,986 in the co-angler division. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Kerry Barnett, Waldron, Ark., eight bass, 11-8, $993
3rd: Evan Barnes, London, Ark., eight bass, 11-4, $660
4th: Stan Cullipher, Malvern, Ark., nine bass, 11-2, $463
5th: Bradley Barnes, Batesville, Ark., six bass, 9-10, $397
6th: Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., seven bass, 9-0, $364
7th: Brian Choate, Conway, Ark., four bass, 8-5, $331
8th: Bruce Thompson, Little Rock, Ark., four bass, 7-4, $298
9th: Vance Bolding, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 6-5, $265
10th: Trevor Wood, Pine Bluff, Ark., five bass, 6-5, $232
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 Regional Championship on Lake Texoma in Pottsboro, Texas. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.