SALLISAW, Okla. (July 13, 2026) – Boater Chris Jones of Bokoshe, Oklahoma, caught a total of five bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces, to win theBass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Arkansas River. The tournament was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Jones earned $3,440 for his victory.
Jones, who calls the Arkansas River his home water, said plentiful rain had muddied up the water recently, but by tournament time the grasslines he was targeting were seeing clearer water.
“I pulled up Saturday morning and caught a bunch of 2- to 2½-pounders early, and I had 12½ pounds,” Jones said. “I left that area and went to another area about two miles away. I pulled up there and caught a 4-6. I kept culling up and later in the day – about 1 o’clock – I caught a 3.98 to give me 16-11.”
Jones said he threw a BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig as well as a BOOYAH Poppin Pad Crasher to provoke strikes.
“It was just a river fishing, grass fishing type of thing,” Jones said. “The main thing was is the areas I fished, I didn’t have any company. I didn’t think I had a chance at this at all until I caught that fish later. You always feel like you need one more fish. It’d been taking 18 to 20 pounds to win, lately.”
Jones’ 16-11 proved to be enough for the win, and he hoisted his sixth Major League Fishing trophy.
“You never know when your next win might be,” Jones said. “You don’t take them for granted.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Chris Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., five bass, 16-11, $3,440
2nd: Mike Hesson, Hackett, Ark., five bass, 16-2, $1,680
3rd: Blayke Haggard, Grove, Okla., five bass, 15-13, $1,100
4th: Kellen Davis, Stigler, Okla., five bass, 15-5, $680
5th: Sean McAllister, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 15-3, $600
6th: Ian Leybas, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 14-10, $870
7th: Joshua Teply, Harrah, Okla., five bass, 14-6, $500
8th: Chad Nolan, Muldrow, Okla., five bass, 14-5, $480
9th: Rodney Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 13-14, $460
10th: Brent Haggard, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 12-15, $430
Ian Leybas of McAlester, Oklahoma, earned the Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, even bass worth $200. Mark Johnson of Weleetka, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,820 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Johnson, Weleetka, Okla., three bass, 8-10, $1,820
2nd: Chris Watkins, Fort Smith, Ark., three bass, 8-2, $840
3rd: Danny Giacomo, McAlester, Okla., three bass, 7-13, $425
4th: Aaron Warren, Owasso, Okla., three bass, 7-12, $340
5th: Robert Jones, Broken Arrow, Okla., three bass, 7-10, $300
6th: Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., three bass, 7-9, $360
7th: Thad Hewitt, Delaware, Okla., three bass, 7-0, $250
8th: Mark King, Gurdon, Okla., three bass, 6-5, $240
9th: Joe Tucker, Osceola, Mo., three bass, 6-0, $230
10th: George Baker, Owasso, Okla., three bass, 5-11, $215
Johnson also earned the Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 11-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, Joshua Teply of Harrah, Oklahoma now leads the 7 Brew Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 934 points, while Thad Hewitt of Delaware, Oklahoma, leads the Okie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 947 points.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-arkansas-71326.html
Bass Fishing League (BFL) News