Zubkoff best boater at BFL event on Detroit River - Major League Fishing

Zubkoff best boater at BFL event on Detroit River

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Boater John Zubkoff of Monroe, Mich., earned $2,862 Aug. 20 as winner of the Wal-Mart BFL Michigan Division event on the Detroit River. Angler: John Zubkoff.
August 20, 2005 • MLF • Archives

TRENTON, Mich. – Boater John Zubkoff of Monroe earned $2,862 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division event on the Detroit River. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Michigan Division events and earned Zubkoff 200 points in the Boater Division.

Zubkoff’s winning catch of five bass weighed 20 pounds, 1 ounce. Zubkoff fished a drop-shot-rigged goby in Lake Erie to catch his bass. He earned an additional $1,500 as winner of the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha awards and another $1,000 as winner of the Garmin Grand award.

Finishing second was Thomas Moleski of Elkhart, Ind., with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 14 ounces that earned him $1,431. Hal Graham of Toledo, Ohio, claimed $936 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 19 pounds, 11 ounces. In fourth was Bob Priest of Clarklake with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 4 ounces worth $728, and finishing fifth and earning $598 was Brian Hensley of Edwardsburg with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces.

Trent Masterson of Ortonville took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $390 for a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a drop-shot-rigged tube.

Michael Kramer of South Bend, Ind., earned $1,431 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces that he caught on a tube rigged on a Bite Me jighead.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chris Gutuskey of Tecumseh (five bass, 18 pounds, $715); Charles Hasty of Toledo, Ohio (five bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces, $470); Gary Michalski of Naperville, Ill. (four bass, 14 pounds, 2 ounces, $364); and Leo Ritter of Goshen, Ind. (five bass, 13 pounds, 14 ounces, $299).

Douglas Lepper of Union City earned $195 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught on a smoke/purple tube on a Bite Me jighead.

The Michigan Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Detroit River near Trenton.

Following the regular season, the Michigan Division boater with the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. The top 40 Michigan Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Ohio River Regional near Paducah, Ky., Oct. 11-15 where they will compete against Arkie, Hoosier and Great Lakes Division anglers for one of six slots in the 2006 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.4 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired, with boaters supplying the boat and fishing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing from the back deck against other co-anglers. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse FLWOutdoors.com.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.