Boling ends Arkansas regular season with victory

ATHENS, Ala. – Mark D. Boling wrapped up the divisional regular season by winning the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series, operated by American Bass Anglers, Arkansas Division 12 tournament, held June 2, 2012, on Greer’s Ferry Lake.

Running out of Devil’s Fork Marina near the town of Greer’s Ferry on a cool morning, the Stuttgart, Ark., angler caught five bass weighing 12.03 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 3.61-pounder to win Boater Division big bass competition. Catching about 35 fish in all, he also took the bonus for the big bass.

“I figured the bream should be bedding, so we started looking for where bream would bed,” Boling explained. “We found some schoolies blowing up in the buck brush, which told me the bream had arrived. I threw a silver and blue Chug Bug in six inches of water. Often, I didn’t even crank it before a fish killed it. I lost probably about 15 pounds of fish.”

In second for the boaters, John Stone of Delight, Ark., came back with a five-bass tournament limit going 11.38 pounds. He caught about 10 bass in all.

“We found some fish schooling along a deep bank in a creek channel,” Stone revealed. “I caught my fish on a smoke-colored Sammy topwater bait and a redbug worm. I was jerking the worm off the bottom.”

Taking third place, Von Kinsey of Lamar, Ark., brought in five keepers for 10.08 pounds. Catching 25 fish total.

“We started looking for schooling fish around points, but they didn’t school as well as they had been doing,” Kinsey said. “I located some brush piles and fished a 12-inch Ol’ Monster worm in tomato or cherry seed. The fish weren’t on top of the piles. I had to get down in the piles to catch them so I switched from a 3/8-ounce weight to a 1/2-ounce tungsten rattling weight to better penetrate the piles.”

Bill K. Lawrence of Russellville, Ark., landed in fourth place among the boaters with five bass going 9.09 pounds. Close behind, Kenneth “Mike” M. Pharr of Shreveport, La., took fifth place with five bass and 9.07 pounds including a 2-pound kicker.

In the Co-Angler Division, Robert J. Bartoszek, a 24-year-old Gander Mountain associate from Conway, Ark., returned with three bass to win with 7.52 pounds. He capped his catch with a 4.55-pounder that earned the tournament lunker title.

“We started throwing topwaters by a point, but I switched to a shaky head with a 7-inch Strike King Perfect Plastic in bluegill and caught one on my first cast,” Bartoszek said. “We caught five or six fish quickly. Then, they shut off. Later, close to a marina, I threw a Reaction Innovations Vixen topwater bait close to a pontoon boat anchored next to a point and caught my big fish.”

In second for the co-anglers, Jeff Gillespie of Fort Smith, Ark., landed a three-bass division limit weighing 6.70 pounds, followed by Justin T. Padgett of Atkins, Ark., with three bass at 6.33 pounds. Lane B. Peeples of Texarkana, Texas, landed in fourth place among the co-anglers with three bass going 6.17 pounds including a 2.30-pound kicker. Trey McCraw, also of Texarkana, Texas, brought in a three-bass limit for 5.38 pounds with one 1.97-pounder.

For more information on this tournament, call Porter Trimble at (318) 201-3474 or ABA at (888) 203-6222. On line, seewww.americanbassanglers.com.

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