Rodney Copeland and Chris Jones used the same mix of BOOYAH baits to take down a win and complete an Angler of the Year title at the Toyota Series Arkansas River event.
Rodney Copeland of Sallisaw, Oklahoma fished highly familiar waters with equally familiar lures and strategies to win the Toyota Series Southwestern Division event on the Arkansas River. Catching the second-biggest bag of the event on the final day, Copeland moved from fifth to first to earn $25,465 and his first MLF win. Copeland weighed a total of 40 pounds, 13 ounces in three days to earn the trophy.
Focusing on the cleanest water available and a mix of lily pads and grass, Copeland did most of his fishing with a BOOYAH 5/16-ounce Mobster Swim Jig and a BOOYAH Pad Crasher and Poppin’ Pad Crasher, choosing colors based on the color of the water.
“It didn’t matter if it was coontail, flat grass, water willow or milfoil,” Copeland said. “The aggressive fish seemed to be near vegetation.”
Copeland chose the 5/16-ounce Mobster, which is the smaller of two sizes, to keep it above submerged grass or atop floating vegetation and matched it with a 3.25-inch YUM Craw Chunk. He said the Craw Chunk is the perfect Mobster trailer for him 90 percent of the time and noted that competitors were even asking him for extra trailers. Shorty Small and Too Tall were his primary Mobster colors.
Copeland mixed the Mobster with the two frogs, using a Night Train Poppin’ Pad Crasher in the most stained water for the sake of the visibility and commotion and the original Pad Crasher for casting past thicker grass a working the frog across it.
Retired from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Copeland took the opportunity to fish he Toyota Series, and once he got in his wheelhouse, it paid off handsomely.
“I’m super excited, it was a bucket list to just fish these Toyotas and try to be competitive,” Copeland said. “At the end of the day, to have a fifth place at Grand and turn around and win here, I couldn’t have wrote the script any better.”
With the Toyota Series event coming to his home river, Copeland had blocked off time to go all-in on the Arkansas River.
“I thought it could be won from any pool, and all three pools were competitive this week,” Copeland said. “But my home court advantage was to go to Kerr. I practiced the Muskogee Pool as well, but when I pulled out on Day 1, I knew I had to go to Kerr to catch ‘em. Day 1, I was a little bit discouraged, but after looking at everyone else’s weights, I knew I wasn’t out of it and decided to make the run again.”
Copeland had to make adjustments every day, as the current was rolling, and overnight storms after Day 1 further impacted the conditions.
“I had about five places I rotated, and it was all grass and pads,” he said. “Some areas were a little dirtier, some were a little cleaner. The conditions changed every day – not just water clarity, but the overall environment.”
The ability to adapt to conditions set apart top finishers, and Copeland was one of three very local anglers to make the Top 5.
“I knew when we left this morning, the guys who fish this river the most would have a big advantage,” he said. “We knew what would clean up, what was going to get dirty, and that’s what we did all week.”
Chris Jones takes down AOY
BOOYAH pro Chris Jones of Bokoshe, Oklahoma, used his Arkansas River expertise to notch a third-place finish, which locked down the Angler of the Year title for the Toyota Series Southwestern Division.
Jones led the series points race going into the final event, having finished second on Grand Lake and 14th on Sam Rayburn. Going into this weekend, Jones had eight Top 10 finishes on the Arkansas River in MLF competition. Jones also won the Southwestern Division AOY in 2018 and has two Toyota Series wins and three BFL wins.
As team tournament partners, Jones and Copeland room together, practiced together and were sharing water, both trying to maximize opportunities but stay out of one other’s way. Both have extensive experience on the Arkansas River.
“It was a really fun event,” Jones said. “I got to catch them exactly like I wanted to.”
Like Copeland, Jones did most of his damage with a BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig with a YUM Craw Chunk tailer and with a BOOYAH Poppin’ Pad Crasher. On Day 2 he turned heavily to a Black BOOYAH Buzz, hoping to call up a big bag with the cloudy conditions. He caught plenty of fish that day, but not the big ones he hoped might separate him from the pack.
Jones primary Mobster color was Shorty Small. He also used the Numbers in the clearest water. For both, he used a White Craw Chunk trailer. He turned to Too Tall, which is named for him, with a Black/Blue trailer for dirtier water. His primary frog colors were Albino Frog and Night Train.
Jones’ best success came from milfoil and deer tongue, with water willow playing a smaller role.
The BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig
The BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig was developed on the Arkansas River and has an incalculable amount bass fishing experience behind its design. Everything about the design maximizes opportunities to fish through vegetation, prompt attacks and get fish out of the cover and into the boat.
The unique head shape cuts through grass exceptionally well, makes it easy to keep the jig high in the water column and creates the ideal amount of shimmy. Features include a strong black nickel hook, vibrant full skirt, stout weed guard, and wire keeper for trailers.
The Mobster comes in two sizes and 14 very carefully selected colors.
