(Mar. 13, 2013 - GROVE, OK.)... Billy Lemon of Sand Springs, Okla., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Okie Division event on Grand Lake For his victory, Lemon earned $4,806.
"I was running a late-winter/early pre-spawn pattern," said Lemon. "This involved fishing main lake and secondary points at the mouths of creeks. It’s the same pattern that has been producing here for me the past two or three weeks. On Grand Lake at this time of the year it usually takes around 20 pounds just to get a check. I wasn’t sure I had enough to make it. The bite had been pretty slow all day and I only caught 10 keepers."
Lemon has had a great couple of weeks on Grand Lake. In addition to his BFL victory, he recently won a local tournament there. In this tournament he successfully caught and weighed the lake’s newest record largemouth -a 12-pound, 3-ounce giant. Lemon was throwing the same lure in both tournaments, an Alabama rig fitted with Gene Larew Sweet Swimmers.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
| 2nd: | Benjamin King | Garnett, Kan. | five bass | 16-12 | $2,403 |
| 3rd: | Zack Birge | Blanchard, Okla. | five bass | 16-7 | $1,605 |
| 4th: | Jeff Reynolds | Calera, Okla. | five bass | 15-14 | $1,121 |
| 5th: | Bob Noble | Nowata, Okla. | five bass | 15-10 | $961 |
| 6th: | James Gilzow | Bella Vista, Ark. | five bass | 15-0 | $881 |
| 7th: | Casey Sullivan | Vian, Okla. | five bass | 14-10 | $801 |
| 8th: | Walter Andries | Coweta, Okla. | five bass | 14-9 | $721 |
| 9th: | Bill Gift | Tontitown, Ark. | four bass | 14-7 | $641 |
| 10th: | Don McFarlin | Gordonville, Texas | five bass | 13-10 | $561 |
Scott Suchak of Edmond, Okla., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $2,403 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
| 2nd: | Joe Montalbano | Broken Arrow, Okla. | five bass | 13-14 | $1,201 |
| 3rd: | Mike Blevins | Jay, Okla. | four bass | 13-6 | $806 |
| 4th: | John Thomas | Hulbert, Okla. | five bass | 12-12 | $521 |
| 4th: | Jeremy Williams | Rockwall, Texas | five bass | 12-12 | $521 |
| 6th: | Glenn Kimbrell | Anderson, S.C. | three bass | 11-6 | $441 |
| 7th: | Steve Enox | , Joplin, Mo. | four bass | 11-0 | $400 |
| 8th: | Nathan Colwell | Pryor, Okla. | four bass | 9-9 | $360 |
| 9th: | Randy Bright | Kansas, Okla. | three bass | 9-8 | $320 |
| 10th: | Aaron Wortham | Fort Smith, Ark. | three bass | 9-5 | $280 |
The next BFL Okie Division tournament is scheduled for April 27 on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Okla. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 Regional Championship on Lake Texoma in Pottsboro, Texas. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 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 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing -the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. The 2013 BFL All-American is being held June 27?29 on the Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tenn. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy -the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the "Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water." For more information about FLW visit the FLWOutdoors website and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.
