A Smithville fisherman has won a major angling title and is $50,000 richer after winning the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League tournament on Cross Lake in Shreveport, La.
The win by Matthew Bouldin came after a rally on the final day of competition as he caught 18 pounds, four ounces to defeat Jesse Parks of Avondale, Ariz., by a scant four ounces. Parks had led the first two days of competition but settled for second and a $15,000 check.
FLWFishing.com reported that Bouldin caught limits each day while fishing with Pat Upthagrove, Nick Deering and Roger Fitzpatrick. He started Saturday’s championship round in third place, having weighed in qualifying-round limits of 16-9 and 9-11. He outfished his pro partner Saturday to close a gap of more than five pounds and walk away a champion.
Bouldin fished the 1/8-ounce shaky head on spinning tackle, and the heavier heads on bait casting tackle. He started out using the 5/16-ounce model, but midway through the tournament realized the heft of the Mag Finesse Worm made it possible to flip and skip with the 3/16-ounce head.
It was his go-to “heavy” model for the final day and was a big producer in the end because he could fish with bait casting tackle more easily and efficiently in the wind or when his boater was covering water at a fast clip. He got seven bites on the final day of the event, pulling in five and weighing in three bass.
Bouldin is a minister and a student at Tennessee Tech where he is studying accounting.
The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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 BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American was held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, La., hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or the FLW Tour.
The tourney will come to Center Hill Lake on June 9 for the Music City Division anglers with up to 400 competitors expected. Top prize will be $8,000.
