Grand Lake Bass Fishing League 17 Sept 16

[Mike Cork]

KANSAS' KING WINS FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE OKIE DIVISION FINALE ON GRAND LAKE
Sandidge wins co-angler title
GROVE, Okla. (Sept. 19, 2016) – Benjamin King of Garnett, Kansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 2 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division Super Tournament on Grand Lake, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 7 ounces. King pocketed $8,349 for his victory.
King said he split his tournament between two patterns – dragging a worm near flats with docks and flipping a creature bait to willows. He said his areas were spread out between Sailboat Bridge and Drowning Creek.
"I used a Mesu Baits Shaky-Head Jig with a worm on the flats, and I flipped a green-pumpkin Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in the willows," said King, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. "I dragged the worm on the bottom from 6 inches to 2 feet of water."
King said he moved a lot, fishing 15 to 20 areas each day of the event.
"I kept running because I wasn't catching much," said King. "The first day I had five keeper bites, and the second day I had six."
King said his Ardent Apex Elite reel and 7'6" Medium-Heavy Ardent Edge rod were essential to his victory.
"The Ardent equipment was really the difference maker for me," said King. "It loaded up well, even with that little bait. I felt like I could cast a mile. If I saw one blow up on the flats, I was able to reach it."
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
               1st:          Benjamin King, Garnett, Kan., 10 bass, 29-7, $6,349 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
               2nd:         Sawyer Grace, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 27-8, $3,175
               3rd:          Chris Torkleson, Sand Springs, Okla., nine bass, 27-5, $2,317
               4th:          Cade Alsbury, Cave Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 26-6, $1,481
               5th:          Ryan Wilbanks, Wagoner, Okla., nine bass, 26-3, $1,270
               6th:          Brandon Mosley, Choctaw, Okla., 10 bass, 25-14, $1,164
               7th:          Sean McAllister, Checotah, Okla., 10 bass, 24-12, $1,058
               8th:          Joel Baker, Talala, Okla., 10 bass, 24-8, $1,052
               9th:          Brett Stearnes, Joplin, Mo., nine bass, 24-3, $1,732
               10th:        Spencer Grace, Dardanelle, Ark., 10 bass, 22-15, $741
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Stearnes caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $885.
Jason Sandidge of Centerton, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and earned $3,175 with a two-day cumulative catch of eight bass weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
               1st:          Jason Sandidge, Centerton, Ark., eight bass, 20-6, $3,175
               2nd:         Steve Bradfield, Claremore, Okla., six bass, 15-13, $1,808
               3rd:          Justin Lillie, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 13-15, $1,059
               4th:          Chris Zins, Oklahoma City, Okla., four bass, 12-8, $741
               5th:          Justin Newell, Muskogee, Okla., four bass, 11-1, $635
               6th:          Dick Hindman, Sapulpa, Okla., four bass, 10-15, $582
               7th:          Kyle Pride, Skiatook, Okla., five bass, 10-11, $529
               8th:          Marc Logan, Jones, Okla., three bass, 10-2, $476
               9th:          Paul Loveland, Grove, Okla., three bass, 9-9, $644
               10th:        Luke Frazier, Skiatook, Okla., four bass, 9-8, $570
Bradfield caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $221.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 27-29 Regional Championship on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas. 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 are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.