Despino Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division on Lake Of The Pines
OutdoorHub 10.02.12
Randy Despino of Colfax, La., weighed a two-day total of 10 bass totaling 42 pounds, 1 ounce to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division super tournament on Lake of the Pines in Longview, Texas, on Sunday. For his victory, Despino earned $4,806.
“It feels great to finally get the win,” said Despino. “I’ve been close several times, but this is my first win on the BFL circuit, and I couldn’t be more happy.
“I was fishing sloughs coming off of the main river in the mid-lake area,” Despino continued. “I had found this specific area on Friday evening and really thought it had the potential to win the event. I went straight there on Saturday, and had most of my fish by 1:30 p.m. I was fishing shallow in only 3 to 4 feet of water, and looking for the sloughs that were on the wood and stumps.
Despino targeted the Lake of the Pines largemouth using a black and blue-colored B&M Flipping jig trailered with a B&M Craw. He said that he fished with it all weekend long, and all of the fish he weighed in came on the jig.
“I knew that my slough wasn’t holding enough fish for me on Sunday, so I decided to move around a bit,” Despino said. “I found another slough that was holding some fish, so on day two I just went back and forth between my two main areas. It was very slow fishing. The fish were not scattered at all, they were grouped up. Once I found that pattern, I stuck with it and knew that I wasn’t going to be fishing anywhere else.
“My Power-Poles really saved me this weekend,” Despino went on to say. “It was very windy and rained all weekend. On Sunday, the winds were blowing at 30 miles per hour for most of the day. My pattern and the Power-Poles were definitely the keys to my victory.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Patrick Fuller, Tyler, Texas, 10 bass, 31-5, $2,403
3rd: Nicholas Albus, Trinity, Texas, 10 bass, 28-5, $1,603
4th: Broke Morrison, Youngsville, La., nine bass, 28-0, $1,121
5th: Glenn Robertson, Shreveport, La., 10 bass, 27-10, $961 + $1,000 Evinrude Bonus
6th: Randy Deaver, Blanchard, La., 10 bass, 27-6, $881
7th: Paul Ferguson, Whitehouse, Texas, 10 bass, 25-13, $801
8th: James Stricklin Jr., Texarkana, Texas, eight bass, 24-14, $721
9th: Brad Whatley, Bivins, Texas, 10 bass, 24-6, $641
10th: Jeff Kitchens, Henderson, Texas, 10 bass, 24-5, $561
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Daniel Brock of Anna, Texas, weighed in nine bass totaling 21 pounds, 12 ounces Sunday to win $2,334 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Dennis Jones, Oakdale, La., nine bass, 19-4, $1,167
3rd: Brandon Stutes, Rayne, La., eight bass, 18-12, $779
4th: Weston Bates, Plain Dealing, La., eight bass, 18-5, $545
5th: Jorge Benitez, Wallis, Texas, seven bass, 14-11, $467
6th: Cory Chustz, Erwinville, La., seven bass, 14-2, $428
7th: Michael Phipps, Elm Grove, La., seven bass, 14-1, $389
8th: Jason Knight, Alvin, Texas, seven bass, 12-11, $350
9th: Philip Vann, St. Martinville, La., six bass, 11-14, $311
10th: Kenny Moser, Alba, Texas, six bass, 10-12, $272
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 18-20 Regional Championship on the Red River in Natchitoches, La. 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
