MANY, La. (April 15, 2019) – Boater Ken Smith of Dallas, Texas, caught five bass Saturday weighing 21 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the 2019 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Cowboy division tournament on Toledo Bend, April 15. Smith earned $8,303 for his victory.
Due to a shortage of co-angler participants, Smith had to fish in a boater-on-boater format and was paired with River Lee of Nacogdoches, Texas. It was a successful day on the water for the duo, as Smith won the event while Lee finished the event in 12th place and won $431.
“I had fish down by the dam, but he had fish closer so we decided to start on his fish and work our way south,” said Smith, who earned his second career victory in BFL competition. “We were fishing in my boat, but we never made it to my fish. Our first spot – which River suggested – we caught five keepers, back and forth, and we never left the area. In fairness, the place we fished is a community hole, but I certainly want to give River credit for putting us on the winning fish.”
Smith said that he caught around a dozen keepers throughout the day flipping a Baby Bass-colored Yamamoto Senko on a Lew’s Custom Lite rod and reel combo with 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon. “The fish were up in the grass as opposed to being on the edge,” Smith said. “Around 11 (a.m.) I caught the big one (7-14) and then a 6-pounder. In 15 minutes I went from 12 pounds to 21 pounds.
“The key was fishing up in the viney bank grass,” Smith went on to say. “There were a lot of guys in the area fishing frogs and topwaters and we were coming in right behind them and catching them way up in the grass.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Ken Smith, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 21-12, $6,303 + $2,000 Ranger Cup
2nd: Cole Stewart, Hemphill, Texas, five bass, 20-13, $2,232
3rd: Zack Fogle, White Oak, Texas, five bass, 20-1, $1,489
4th: Philip Crelia, Center, Texas, five bass, 19-3, $1,141
5th: Paul Wilson, Converse, La., five bass, 17-15, $893
6th: Glen Freeman, Zwolle, La., five bass, 17-7, $818
7th: Josh Champagne, Breaux Bridge, La., five bass, 17-5, $744
8th: Nick Abshire, Sulphur, La., five bass, 17-4, $632
8th: Cody Pitt, Many, La., five bass, 17-4, $632
10th: Matthew Armand, Hessmer, La., five bass, 15-14, $521
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Smith’s 7-pound, 14-ounce bass was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $640. Lat Nichols of Deport, Texas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,357 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 14 ounces.