DENISON, Texas (Sept. 23, 2017) – Boater Jeff Reynolds of Calera, Oklahoma, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the FLW Series Southwestern Division tournament on Lake Texoma. Reynolds’ three-day total of 15 bass weighing 51 pounds, 9 ounces was enough to earn him $80,167, including a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
“I put a lot of work into preparing for this event,” said Reynolds, who earned his first career-victory in FLW Series competition. “The payday means more than anything to me right now. I’m building a house and we have a baby on the way, so any money helps.
“I played the wind a lot this week – it was one of the biggest factors in where I decided to fish,” continued Reynolds. “On Day One it was blowing really hard so I stayed shallow. On Day Two it was a bit lighter so I was able to catch some out deep. On Day Three, it was so calm that all but one came from deep water.”
Reynolds said his most productive bait up shallow was a Heddon Super Spook topwater. He said his shallow areas were primarily on the main lake.
“I focused on flat points and banks with rock, sand and clay,” said Reynolds. “The biggest key was the shad. If I could find shad pushed up on the flats, I knew I could catch them.”
For the deep bite, Reynolds worked through stumps, brush and rock piles with a Texas-rigged green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Trick Worm with a ½-ounce weight.
“I had deeper areas both on the main lake and in pockets,” said Reynolds “Some keepers came as shallow as 10 feet, but most were 20 to 25 feet down.”
The top 10 pros on Lake Texoma finished:
1st: Jeff Reynolds, Calera, Okla., 15 bass, 51-9, $80,167
2nd: Don McFarlin, Gordonville, Texas, 15 bass, 47-1, $13,627
3rd: T.R. Andreas, Kerrville, Texas, 15 bass, 44-6, $10,750
4th: Alton Wilhoit, Noble, Okla., 15 bass, 44-6, $8,892
5th: Kevin Gressett, Tioga, Texas, 15 bass, 43-2, $7,913
6th: Hayden Burkett, Bokchito, Okla., 15 bass, 42-7, $7,033
7th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 15 bass, 42-7, $6,154
8th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, 15 bass, 41-7, $5,275
9th: Brandon Mosley, Choctaw, Okla., 15 bass, 40-13, $4,396
10th: Ricci Head, Shawnee, Okla., 11 bass, 37-14, $3,517
Joe Lane of Republic, Missouri, caught a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass Thursday – the biggest of the tournament in the Boater Division. For his catch, Lane earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $242. Dan Wilson of Pilot Point, Texas, won the Co-angler Division, $5,000 and a new Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard motor. Wilson earned his win with a three-day total catch of 15 bass weighing 37 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Texoma finished:
1st: Dan Wilson, Pilot Point, Texas, 15 bass, 37-15, $27,200 + $5,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Daren Scott, Aledo, Texas, 12 bass, 35-0, $4,588
3rd: Rick Parker, Kaufman, Texas, 14 bass, 31-12, $3,541
4th: J.C. Thompson, Calera, Okla., 11 bass, 27-7, $3,099
5th: Joe Copeland, Roff, Okla., 10 bass, 26-13, $2,656
6th: Andrew Brandstrom, White Bear Lake, Minn., 10 bass, 25-11, $2,263
7th: Chris Weaver, Lawton, Okla., 11 bass, 21-14, $1,771
8th: Chad Witten, Elgin, Okla., 10 bass, 21-2, $1,549
9th: Hugh Rose, Davis, Okla., nine bass, 20-15, $1,328
10th: Bruce Jones, Arlington, Texas, eight bass, 20-2, $1,107
Chris Jeffery caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – a fish weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $161.