BROOKELAND, Texas (March 4, 2019) – Boater Jeremy Knepper of Montgomery, Texas, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 27 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Cowboy Division tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Knepper took home $5,261 for his efforts. Knepper said he caught his fish flipping bushes along an approximately 200-yard stretch near Veach Basin. He said he’d had some success at the area in practice, and decided to return to it during the event.
“The stretch had some bushes with deep water nearby. During practice, I had only gotten five bites – including a 6-pounder – and lost a good one at the boat,” said Knepper, who logged his first win in FLW competition. “It was one of those deals where I knew that if I could get five bites during the tournament, they’d be the right ones, but I wasn’t sure that I could get those five bites.”
Knepper said he arrived at the area first thing in the morning and within about 10 minutes, put a 9-pounder in the boat.
“I flipped into a bush, felt a hard tug and boat-flipped it. That one calmed me down. With the water dropping and the weather changing like it is, I wasn’t sure that the pattern was going to hold. But that one told me they were there,” said Knepper. “About 10 or 15 minutes later I caught one of my 5-pounders. I looked at the clock and saw it was about 8:15 (a.m.) and I knew I was way ahead of schedule.”
Knepper said he got a couple more bites, but could tell he had hit a mid-morning lull, so he decided to let the area rest.
“I didn’t want to go back through - I wanted to let it sit. You had to let the stretch rest and reload,” said Knepper. “I spent about two hours running the bank looking for similar water before coming back to the stretch. Then I got a 6-pounder and then a 5-pounder toward the end of it. With four fish in the boat, I let it rest again, and caught my fifth around 2 (p.m.).”
The Texas boater said he used one bait to catch his fish – a ½-ounce, Texas-rigged, Hematoma-colored Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver on an Owner Jungle flipping hook.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jeremy Knepper, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 27-9, $5,261
2nd: Brandon Thrash, Downsville, La., five bass, 24-13, $2,931
3rd: Bryan Trahan, Orange, Texas, five bass, 20-1, $2,573
4th: Randy Deaver, Blanchard, La., five bass, 19-14, $1,428
5th: Kevin Jeane, Natchitoches, La., five bass, 19-6, $1,052
6th: Cade Rudiger, Mansfield, Texas, five bass, 19-1, $965
7th: Ken Smith, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 18-14, $977
8th: Matthew Armand, Hessmer, La., five bass, 18-13, $789
9th: Ricky Guy, Humble, Texas, five bass, 17-3, $657
9th: Michael LaFleur, Orangefield, Texas, five bass, 17-3, $657
Trahan caught an 11-pound, 10-ounce largemouth – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $820. Clark Moore of Nacogdoches, Texas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,631 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 19 pounds even.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Clark Moore, Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 19-0, $2,631
2nd: Steven Fisher, Lufkin, Texas, five bass, 16-3, $1,315
3rd: Hannah Gryder, Milam, Texas, five bass, 15-4, $877
4th: Jerry Meece, Lufkin, Texas, five bass, 14-14, $714
5th: Tate Allen, West Monroe, La., five bass, 14-13, $526
6th: Billy Eddins, Broaddus, Texas, five bass, 14-4, $482
7th: James Corley, Deridder, La., five bass, 14-2, $438
8th: Michael Greer Jr., Deridder, La., five bass, 13-11, $445
9th: Don Johnson, Lufkin, Texas, five bass, 13-2, $351
10th: Byron Smith, Missouri City, Texas, five bass, 13-1, $307
Keith Hawkins of Lake Providence, Louisiana, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $410.