Tennessee angler Skylar Hamilton caught a 12-06 limit Saturday to win the Arkansas River Central Open with a 3-day total of 45-06, edging Teb Jones by 1 ounce.
For the win, Hamilton collected a $45,000 Triton 19TRX/Mercury 200 Pro XS rig and $8,277 in cash. After catching a 19-pound, 4-ounce limit Friday, the 21-year-old Hamilton found the fishing tougher in his primary area today.
“I did the same thing as I did (Friday), but the weather was a lot different this morning,” he said. “We had some storms roll through.”
His primary spot was an oxbow lake where he flipped to reeds. The area featured baby blackbirds falling in the water and a mayfly hatch, which triggered bluegill into eating the insects and bass feeding on the sunfish, he related.
Hamilton spent all three days flipping a Texas rigged Berkley Havoc Pit Boss in the Okeechobee craw color with a 1/4-ounce weight and a 4/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flipping Hook.
Additional details about his winning pattern will be published soon.
Here's a look at how the Top 12 finished up:
1. Skylar Hamilton: 45-06
2. Teb Jones: 45-05
3. Jason Christie: 45-03
4. Keith Poche: 43-05
5. Lee Livesay: 42-06
6. Justin Margraves: 42-03
7. Chris Babin: 41-06
8. David Gillham: 40-00
9. Gerald Spohrer: 39-08
10. Chris Jones: 38-03
11. Blake Betz: 38-01
12. Wade Leblanc: 36-02
