BROOKELAND, Texas (June 15, 2019) – Pro Kris Wilson of Montgomery, Texas, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 24 pounds, 1 ounce, to lead the event from start to finish and win the FLW Series tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Wilson’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 72 pounds, 8 ounces, was enough to earn him the victory by a 13-pound, 15-ounce margin over second-place pro Josh Bensema of Willis, Texas, and earn him $37,586.
“Coming into this event I expected the fish to be in the bushes, but it really evolved as the week went on,” said Wilson, who earned his second career FLW Series victory on Sam Rayburn. “I really focused on finding fish that were coming to me rather than leaving. And that ended up being about 300 yards out from the bushes.
“My main areas were mainly in the mouths of big coves, and the fish were set up on hard spots – ledges and points,” Wilson continued. “The key was that it had to have a hard bottom. I was running a lot of spots, but I had three spots that produced big fish each day.”
Wilson said he caught around 15 keepers each day. His main tactic was dragging a Carolina-rigged red bug creature bait that resembles a Zoom Brush Hog, poured by him and his tournament partner, Harold Moore. He also weighed in two keepers on chartreuse and blue-colored 6th Sense Lures C15 and C20 crankbaits.
The top 10 pros on Sam Rayburn Reservoir finished:
1st: Kris Wilson, Montgomery, Texas, 15 bass, 72-8, $37,586
2nd: Josh Bensema, Willis, Texas, 15 bass, 58-9, $13,910
3rd: Justin Morton, Etoile, Texas, 15 bass, 50-0, $10,692
4th: Cole Moore, Anacoco, La., 15 bass, 47-6, $8,910
5th: Albert Collins, Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 47-1, $8,019
6th: Cory Rambo, Orange, Texas, 15 bass, 46-15, $7,128
7th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, 15 bass, 44-0, $6,237
8th: Matt Pangrac, Broken Arrow, Okla., 15 bass, 43-0, $5,346
9th: Bob Vote, Kingwood, Texas, 15 bass, 41-3, $4,455
10th: Eric Wright, Balch Springs, Texas, 15 bass, 40-15, $3,812
Wilson weighed a 9-pound, 5-ounce bass Friday – the heaviest of the tournament in the Pro Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $248. Zack Freeman of Russellville, Arkansas, won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 53 pounds, 5 ounces. For his win, Freeman took home the top prize package of a new Ranger Z175 boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.
The top 10 co-anglers on Sam Rayburn finished:
1st: Zack Freeman, Russellville, Ark., 15 bass, 53-5, $27,347
2nd: Alan Moore, Lufkin, Texas, 15 bass, 47-6, $4,628
3rd: Steve Phillips, Diboll, Texas, 15 bass, 40-7, $3,712
4th: Charles Dubroc, Hessmer, La., 14 bass, 37-4, $3,204
5th: Jerry Meece, Lufkin, Texas, 15 bass, 33-13, $2,997
6th: Buddy Hicks, Port Neches, Texas, 15 bass, 33-2, $2,289
7th: Louis Ferguson, Woodville, Texas, 15 bass, 32-15, $1,831
8th: John Hatton, Buna, Texas, 13 bass, 32-9, $1,602
9th: James Callaghan, De Berry, Texas, 15 bass, 32-5, $1,373
10th: Michael Bates, Corsicana, Texas, 10 bass, 27-6, $1,144
Freeman also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces. He earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $165.