Grand Lake Bass Fishing League Finale

[Mike Cork]

SMITH WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE OKIE DIVISION FINALE ON GRAND LAKE
                                                                                                               
Turner wins co-angler title

GROVE, Okla. (Sept. 28, 2015) – Kirk Smith of Edmond, Oklahoma, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 15 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Okie Division Super Tournament on Grand Lake with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 11 ounces. For his victory, Smith earned $6,910.


Kirk Smith of Edmond, Oklahoma, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 15 ounces Sunday to win the Okie Division Super Tournament on Grand Lake with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 11 ounces. Smith earned a $6,910 check for his win. (FLW)

"I was targeting main-lake points in 10 to 12 feet of water," said Smith of his first win in FLW competition. "At each point, there would be a small 100-square-foot spot that I had to cast to repeatedly to get a bite. These spots were typically around subtle irregularities in the shoreline, like a small inlet."

Smith said he used a green-pumpkin-colored jig and a Gene Larew Biffle Bug to catch six keepers on Saturday and eight keepers on Sunday. 

"I caught the majority of my fish between and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.," said Smith. "Two of them came on the Biffle Bug and the rest on the jig."

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Kirk Smith, Edmond, Okla., 10 bass, 35-11, $6,910
2nd:         Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 31-11, $3,455
3rd:          Thomas Canady, Bartlesville, Okla.,  10 bass, 30-13, $2,301
4th:          Mitchell Webb, Skiatook, Okla., 10 bass, 25-3, $1,612
5th:          Wade Ramsey, Choctaw, Okla., 10 bass, 24-10, $1,382
6th:          B.J. Miller, Adams, Neb., 10 bass, 24-4, $1,267
7th:          Wayne Diffee, Oakhurst, Okla., 10 bass, 24-3, $1,152
8th:          Justin Curnutte, Grove, Okla., nine bass, 24-1, $1,037
9th:          Crawford Brantley, Wichita, Kan., 10 bass, 23-14, $921
10th:        Joe Waggoner, Carthage, Mo., 10 bass, 23-7, $806
             
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 

Waggoner caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday. The fish weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces and earned the day's Big Bass award of $1005.

Kevin Turner of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and $3,403 with a two-day total of eight bass weighing 17 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Kevin Turner, Sand Springs, Okla., eight bass, 17-0, $3,403
2nd:         Russell Leffew, Winfield, Kan., six bass, 16-1, $1,702
3rd:          James Rogers, Springdale, Ark., six bass, 14-7, $1,133
4th:          Chastin Ezell, El Reno, Okla., five bass, 13-9, $794
5th:          J.P. Northcutt, Wyandotte, Okla., six bass, 13-6, $681
6th:          Shane Cashman, Henryetta, Okla., six bass, 13-3, $624
7th:          Steven Dowty, Claremore, Okla., six bass, 13-1, $567
8th:          Jose Palma, Oklahoma City, Okla., four bass, 12-14, $511
9th:          Devin Duncan, Kansas, Okla., five bass, 12-11, $454
10th:        Bryant Bradford, Oklahoma City, Okla., six bass, 12-6, $397

Palma caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day's Big Bass award of $495.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.