MOUNT IDA, Ark. (March 4, 2024) – Boater Bryce Boatright of Sheridan, Arkansas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake Ouachita. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Arkie Division. Boatright earned $4,652 for his victory.
Kicking off his second BFL season, Boatright caught all his fish on a Black’s Custom BFL Umbrella Rig in 10 to 20 feet of water. He set up his rig with Keitech Swing Impact FAT Swimbaits on Black’s Custom Umbrella Rig Jig Heads. Rather than target a specific area, Boatright roamed around, fishing a mix of cover and structure and targeting areas with varying water clarity. He caught about 10 keeper bass throughout the day.
“I caught them on rocks, on brush, suspended. It was a little mix of everything,” said Boatright, who works as a nurse in Hot Springs.
“It was just a good day. I haven’t really been on anything in practice. I just caught the right fish today. I got around the right fish that wanted to bite.”
The top 11 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Bryce Boatright, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 18-12, $4,652
2nd: Chris Darby, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 18-9, $2,326
3rd: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 16-15, $1,551
4th: Rance Warden, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 15-13, $1,771
5th: Chris Hamilton, Mayflower, Ark., five bass, 15-7, $930
6th: Kiley Lawson, Salem, Ark., five bass, 15-4, $853
7th: Lucas Bradley, Salem, Ark., five bass, 14-15, $775
8th: Allen Stewart, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 14-12, $698
9th: Matt Baker, Glenwood, Ark., five bass, 14-1, $550
9th: Braxton Shifflett, Jessieville, Ark., five bass, 14-1, $550
9th: Chris Huselton, Conway, Ark., five bass, 14-1, $550
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Rance Warden of North Little Rock, Arkansas, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $685.
Robert Joslin of Fort Smith, Arkansas, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,326 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Robert Joslin, Fort Smith, Ark., five bass, 13-9, $2,326
2nd: Cody Mangrum, West Memphis, Ark., five bass, 11-10, $1,163
3rd: Victor Jones, Hot Springs Village, Ark., five bass, 11-5, $777
4th: Ramsey Gilbert, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 10-14, $543
5th: Blake Ward, Sherwood, Ark., four bass, 10-10, $465
6th: Zachary Ramsey, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 10-08, $426
7th: Zeke Stevens, Springdale, Ark., five bass, 10-5, $388
8th: Mason Davis, Vilonia, Ark., four bass, 9-11, $691
9th: Zachary Morrow, Lonsdale, Ark., five bass, 9-5, $310
10th: Steve Meredith, Jessieville, Ark., four bass, 9-4, $271
Mason Davis of Vilonia, Arkansas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $342, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
https://dev.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-ouachitat-3424.html
Bass Fishing League (BFL) News