How quick a division season passes! Full of ups and downs with lake levels and weather patterns, a constant throughout the season has been the talent of the Bull Shoals Division anglers as weights have been through the roof throughout the winter.
The season finale proved to be no different as 24 teams brought 16 limits to the weigh-in scales. Additional constants worth mention has been the tremendous support of our division sponsor West Plains Marine, host facility, beautiful Buck Creek Marina, and our new lodging host, Blue Waters Resort. The season could not have been executed without the comforts provided by both! From a fishing standpoint, anglers faced party cloudy conditions and falling lake level while gunning for a season ending win and qualifying points for the Joe Bass Team Trails Championship at Table Rock Lake in October.
The strength of Joe Bass anglers is becoming recognized nationally as the Trail is proud to send an angler to the BASSMASTER Classic for the second year in a row, with Ryan Butler winning the 2018 honors on the heels of Scott Clift’s visit in 2017.
Concluding another stellar season was the ever-strong team of Eric and Dustin Blevins. Their 18.89 stringer provided more than a 2.5 pound margin of victory. After discussions (or threats) of a bubble-gum pink gitzit fished on a Ned Rig on 2# test line, talk of a Sport Boats USA Key to Success turned to umbrellas rigs and crankbaits as the tools that boated 15 keepers down lake.
Taking runner-up honors was Don Parkin and Rodney Shockey. They complemented an umbrella rig by also throwing a Bull Shoals wintertime standard, a smoke grub. They focused on steeper banks in the 12-18’ range to catch 16.02 pounds.
Rounding out the top three was Darren Tilley who paired with Doug Fulkerson. The umbrellas rig was the also their bait of choice. Fishing 15-20’ 45 degree banks downlake, their five bass limit topped out at 15.87 pounds.
Laryme Campbell teamed up with Albert Scott to catch the Ozarks Chevrolet Big Bass of 5.88 pounds. The big fish bit an umbrella rig worked across a 5’ deep flat. Laryme noted the fish weighed more than the other four keepers they had in the boat at the time!
Taking another Sport Boats USA Skeeter Bonus, Mark Thompson and Jim Smith weighed 12.84 pounds of Bull Shoals bass taken on an umbrella rig while fishing from Mark’s Sport Boats USA ZX225.
2018 Division Champions Dustin & Eris Blevins
Photos
Final Results
| Place | Team Members | Fish | B/F | TotWgt | Pts | Payout | |
| 1 | Dustin Blevins – Eric Blevins | 5 | 5.25 | 18.89 | 110 | $1,300.00 | 2BB |
| 2 | Don Parkin – Rodney Shockey | 5 | 4.08 | 16.02 | 109 | $620.00 | |
| 3 | *Doug Fulkerson – Darren Tilley | 5 | 5.15 | 15.87 | 108 | $480.00 | |
| 4 | Chris Scott – *Cole Vanhorn | 5 | 14.39 | 107 | $164.00 | ||
| 5 | Matt Layman – Casey Brotherton | 5 | 4.86 | 14.38 | 106 | ||
| 6 | Roger Harp – Bill Fair | 5 | 3.6 | 14.16 | 105 | ||
| 7 | Laryme Campbell – *Albert Scott | 5 | 5.88 | 13.87 | 104 | $140.00 | 1BB |
| 8 | Larry Hurtt – Chris Adams | 5 | 4.03 | 13.62 | 103 | ||
| 9 | Larry Davenport – Kyle Davenport | 5 | 12.9 | 102 | |||
| 10 | Mark Thompson – Jim Smith | 5 | 12.84 | 101 | $500.00 | Top Skeeter | |
| 11 | Buck Comstock – Greg Blair | 5 | 12.67 | 100 | |||
| 12 | Jacob Garrett – Kem Wallace | 5 | 2.83 | 11.95 | 99 | ||
| 13 | Matt Garrett – Kaleb Rook | 5 | 2.77 | 11.9 | 98 | ||
| 14 | Kurt Clements – | 5 | 2.83 | 11.86 | 97 | ||
| 15 | Kelly Jones – Roger Satterfield | 5 | 11.37 | 96 | |||
| 16 | Gary Daniel – Jay Oliver | 5 | 9.93 | 95 | |||
| 17 | Timm Jones – *Carl Goins | 3 | 5.56 | 94 | |||
| 18 | Arthur Fortin – Marvin Whisnant | 1 | 2.75 | 2.75 | 93 | ||
| 19 | Luke Bradley – *fished alone | 0 | 10 | ||||
| Richie Huebner – Brandon Lowry | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Chris Jackson – | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Darrin King – Mark Mahaffey | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Tom Mason – Chris Reese | 0 | 10 | |||||
| *Blake Hart – Justin Reed | 0 | 10 |
*alternate