Lake Dardanelle Bass Fishing League 29 Aug 2016

[Mike Cork]

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (Aug. 29, 2016) – Jerry Williams of Conway, Arkansas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 7 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division Super Tournament on Lake Dardanelle with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 12 ounces. Williams took home $7,619 for his efforts.
Williams said he targeted drops and ledges in areas on the lower end of Lake Dardanelle. He said he positioned his boat in 5 to 6 feet water and fished down to as deep as 20 feet.
"The fish were in brush on mussel bed drops and ledges," said Williams, a former Walmart FLW Tour pro with three Forrest Wood Cup qualifications. "You had to have both mussels and brush for them to be there. There were spots with one or the other, but you absolutely needed to have both."
Williams said he caught 13 keepers – including the biggest bass of the tournament - on a ¾-ounce custom-made jig.
"The conditions were tough, so I was going for quality over quantity," said Williams. "Most anglers were running down the banks, but I felt it was the wrong time of year for that pattern. I think that instinct is what helped me edge out the field."
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
               1st:          Jerry Williams, Conway, Ark., 10 bass, 29-12, $5,619 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
               2nd:         Brandon Lee, Ratcliff, Ark., 10 bass, 29-4, $2,502
               3rd:          Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., nine bass, 28-3, $1,666
               4th:          Brad Morgan, Ashdown, Ark., 10 bass, 26-8, $1,368
               5th:          Troy Gibson, Mountain Home, Ark., 10 bass, 25-3, $1,001
               6th:          Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, 10 bass, 25-3, $1,017
               7th:          Sawyer Grace, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 23-6, $834
               8th:          Jake Ormond, Sterlington, La., nine bass, 22-10, $751
               9th:          Dustin Huggins, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 22-7, $667
               10th:        Fred Martin, North Little Rock, Ark., nine bass, 21-14, $884
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Williams' 5-pound, 10-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – earned him the day's Boater Big Bass award of $615.
Tabitha Lancaster of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and earned $2,602 with a two-day cumulative catch of six bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
               1st:          Tabitha Lancaster, Arkadelphia, Ark., six bass, 17-9, $2,602
               2nd:         Niketa Gooden, Lonoke, Ark., eight bass, 14-1, $1,251
               3rd:          Stephen Simms, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 11-12, $834
               4th:          Juan Barrientos, Clarksville, Ark., four bass, 11-10, $584
               5th:          Jason Scoggins, Benton, Ark., five bass, 10-14, $500
               6th:          Josh Ford, Mount Ida, Ark., four bass, 8-13, $459
               7th:          Lawrence Dimas, Prattsville, Ark., four bass, 8-7, $417
               8th:          Wayne Hutton, Imboden, Ark., four bass, 8-3, $425
               9th:          Steve McDonald, Greenwood, Ark., two bass, 8-0, $334
               10th:        Dustin Roberts, Clarksville, Ark., four bass, 7-15, $292
Justin Loggins of Marshall, Arkansas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Saturday, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $307.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Sept. 29 - Oct. 1 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. 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.