Two anglers from Bentonville had the fishing tournament of a lifetime March 13 at Grand Lake.
Justin Cooper and Heath Konkler weighed five largemouth bass that totaled 32.41 pounds. That's an unheard of heavyweight catch at the northeast Oklahoma lake with a reputation for excellent bass fishing.
Their heaviest bass was a whopper at 8.47 pounds. Even their smallest fish was a lunker that weighed 5 pounds. Their catch came during a Nichols Marine Team Series event held out of Martin's Landing near Grove. The day was one that bass chasers dream about. It didn't start out that way.
"We thought we were jinxed right off the bat because we drew boat No. 1," Konkler said. That meant they would be among the first teams to weigh their fish, something that didn't thrill the two. It was a big tournament with 272 boats.
"We were getting into some schools of fish off a couple of points," Konkler recalled. Their second bass of the day was the 8.47-pounder. The very next cast produced a 7-pounder.
"We were already sitting there thinking, man, we've got a chance to win."
They caught fish in some other spots, but returned to their lunker point later and caught a 6-pounder. They caught most of their bass on black spinner baits, which they worked slowly.
Catching big fish was exciting enough. Things got crazier.
One was netting a fish with one hand while holding his fishing rod in the other hand, with the lure still in water. A bass hammered the lure while the other bass was being netted. That happened three times during the tournament, Konkler said.
A bass angler's dream unfolded before their eyes that day on Grand Lake. They were so excited they headed to the weigh-in site an hour early. The two didn't want to take a chance on having motor trouble or otherwise being late for the weigh-in and get penalized or disqualified, not with five bass weighing 32 pounds.
Most bass tournaments at Beaver Lake are won with five fish that total 15 to 20 pounds. It often takes a catch in the low 20s to win at Grand Lake. The catch by Cooper and Konkler is historic. It's heavier than the a final-day catch of 29-pounds, 3-ounces by the winner of the the Bassmaster Classic three weeks ago at Grand Lake. That's the heaviest final-day catch for a winner in the 46-year history of the classic.
When the tournament director got wind of their catch, he had Cooper and Konkler weigh their catch last, not first.
"There were 100 to 200 people there. Everybody was just in awe when they saw that sack of fish," Konkler said.
Their win was far heavier than the second-place team who had 23.26 pounds. First prize was a Triton bass boat with motor and trailer. They also won $1,000 for big bass with their 8.47 pound largemouth.
Justin McClelland of the Bella Vista area fishes tournaments at Grand Lake and said he's never heard of such a heavy winning weight.
"Not even close, and there may never be another one like that again."
Konkler agrees.
"We're still in shock. We just can't believe it," he said. "We'll never forget this. We may never have another day like this."
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip.
Sports on 03/22/2016