PRAIRIE GROVE’S SUMTER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE OPENER ON ARKANSAS RIVER

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (April 8, 2019) – Boater Brit Sumter of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, brought five bass to the weigh-in stage Saturday totaling 18 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division opener on the Arkansas River. For his victory, Sumter pocketed $4,315.

“I caught them all flipping laydowns in the backs of spawning pockets,” said Sumter, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I stayed in the Webbers Falls pool and fished in the Spaniard Creek area and probably hit five different pockets. I think they were moving in to spawn, but the water was too dirty to see them.”

Sumter said he used a Texas-rigged, black and blue- or green pumpkin-colored YUM Christie Critter with a 5/16-ounce weight.

“My fish were in less than 3 feet of water. As soon as I’d pitch in and pick it up they’d be there, probably hitting it on the fall,” said Sumter. “I caught six keepers and weighed all largemouth. Four of my fish came by 8:30 [a.m.] and two more around noon, which culled a smaller one.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

               1^st:          Brit Sumter, Prairie Grove, Ark., five bass, 18-1, $4,315

               2^nd:         Nick Kincaid, Coweta, Okla., five bass, 16-12, $2,157

               3^rd:          Brian Dossey, Okmulgee, Okla., five bass, 15-5, $1,439

               4^th:          Jacob Keenom, Meeker, Okla., five bass, 15-2, $1,007

               5^th:          Phillip Lunceford, Stigler, Okla., five bass, 13-13, $863

               6^th:          Mark Shadowens, Kiefer, Okla., five bass, 13-12, $791

               7^th:          John Soukup, Agra, Okla., five bass, 13-9, $919

               8^th:          Chuck Nelson, Elmore City, Okla., five bass, 13-3, $747

               9^th:          Rodney Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 12-13, $575

               10^th:        Brandon Linney, Tahlequah, Okla., three bass, 12-10, $478

               10^th:        Matt Williams, Prairie Grove, Ark., four bass, 12-10, $478

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Chris Ogan of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, caught a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $610.

Matt Wright of Clay Center, Kansas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,157 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1^st:          Matt Wright, Clay Center, Kan., five bass, 13-12, $2,157

               2^nd:         Russell Vandiver, Wyandotte, Okla., five bass, 13-4, $1,079

               3^rd:          Steve Sanders, Gore, Okla., three bass, 10-11, $917

               4^th:          Jackie Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., four bass, 10-7, $503

               5^th:          Tej Lad, Tulsa, Okla., four bass, 9-9, $431

               6^th:          Rick Blosser, Tulsa, Okla., four bass, 9-6, $446

               7^th:          Steven Whitaker, Sallisaw, Okla., four bass, 9-3, $360

               8^th:          Drake Lumpkin, Ft. Gibson, Okla., three bass, 8-13, $306

               8^th:          Keith Sherwood, McAlester, Okla., four bass, 8-13, $306

               10^th:        Nic Conger, Fort Smith, Ark., four bass, 8-9, $252

Jimmy Green of Tulsa, Oklahoma, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $305.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky, presented by Evinrude. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.