Boater Phil Marks of Dallas, Texas, caught five bass weighing 26 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Cowboy Division event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Navionics. Marks earned $8,300 for his win.
“They were spawning in the bushes mid-lake and I caught them using a blue-colored (Strike King) Hack Attack jig with a blue (Strike King) Rage Craw trailer,” said Marks, who earned his third career win in FLW competition. “Some fish I could see and some I couldn’t, but they were definitely on beds.”
Marks said he caught around 20 bass throughout the day, and that they were more aggressive earlier in the morning.
“After 10 a.m. I had to make a lot of pitches in there to get them to bite,” said Marks. “I had to remind myself to be patient. I’d put down my Power-Poles and fish slow, which is tough for me because I like to power-fish.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Phil Marks, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 26-1, $6,300 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Blake Schroeder, Whitehouse, Texas, five bass, 21-3, $3,200
3rd: Jamey Cole, Springhill, La., five bass, 19-14, $3,000
4th: Nick Lebrun, Bossier City, La., five bass, 18-15, $1,500
5th: Cody Pitt, Many, La., five bass, 18-11, $1,200
6th: Randy Despino, Colfax, La., five bass, 18-8, $1,100
7th: Philip Crelia, Center, Texas, five bass, 17-11, $1,000
8th: Eric Faucett, Norman, Okla., five bass, 17-3, $900
9th: Todd Hughes, Goodrich, Texas, five bass, 17-0, $800
10th: Jason Ball, Lumberton, Texas, five bass, 16-15, $700
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Cole caught a bass weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $1,000.
Bronsun Pusselo of Sulphur, Louisiana, and Tom Woodard of Rosepine, Louisiana, each brought bass weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces, to the scale Saturday to tie for the win in the Co-angler Division. Woodard took home $2,250 while Pusselo earned $2,750 after contingency bonuses.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Bronsun Pusselo, Sulphur, La., three bass, 16-8, $2,750
1st: Tim Woodard, Rosepine, La., five bass, 16-8, $2,250
3rd: James Dutton, Hemphill, Texas, five bass, 16-3, $1,000
4th: Russell Lewis, Pineville, La., five bass, 15-6, $900
5th: Justin Shelton, Kemp, Texas, four bass, 15-4, $650
6th: Hunter Olden, Bourg, La., five bass, 14-14, $550
7th: Aaron Renda, Deville, La., five bass, 12-15, $500
8th: Ryan Latch, Lafayette, La., five bass, 12-11, $450
9th: Benjamin Shaw, Haughton, La., five bass, 11-15, $400
10th: Lindy Hadley, Sam Rayburn, Texas, five bass, 11-11, $350
Pusselo also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a 10-pound, 13-ounce giant. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $500.
