Boater Bob Priest of Clarklake, Mich., caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win $3,632 plus a $2,000 Ranger Cup bonus in the BFL Michigan Division tournament on the St. Clair River. Under cloudy skies, Priest used a drop-shot rig with 3-inch minnows in the rocks, weeds and sand to catch his limit.
Rounding out the top 10 boaters:
2nd: Gary Greenwood, Irwin, Pa., five bass, 21-2, $1,816
3rd: Todd Schmitz, Goshen, Ind., five bass, 20-6, $1,210
4th: Jason Merschman, Pataskala, Ohio, five bass, 19-6, $847
5th: Heath Wagner, Angola, Ind., five bass, 18-13, $726
6th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 18-9, $1,666*
7th: Jared Rhode, Port Clinton, Ohio, five bass, 18-8, $605
8th: Bryan Plenzler, Sylvania, Ohio, five bass, 18-4, $545
9th: Steve Roth, Syracuse, Ind., five bass, 18-1, $484
10th: Joseph Brzuchowski, Belleville, Mich., five bass, 17-15, $424
*Includes $1,000 Evinrude bonus
Ahonen, Avena tie for co-angler win
Jay Ahonen of Ortonville, Mich., and Adrian Avena of Vineland, N.J., each caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces to tie for the win in the Co-angler Division and each took home $1,362 from the St. Clair River. Ahonen was using a drop-shot rig with tubes around rocks and ledges to catch his limit, and Avena was also using a drop-shot around grass to get his limit.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
3rd: Larry Kitchel, Logansport, Ind., five bass, 18-11, $606
4th: Nick Marble, Macomb, Mich., five bass, 18-1, $424
5th: Mark Fennell, Lagrange, Ind., five bass, 17-11, $348
5th: Jay Van Dyke, Wyoming, Mich., five bass, 17-11, $348
7th: Seth Borton, Adrian, Mich., five bass, 17-4, $303
8th: David Adams, Schererville, Ind., five bass, 15-11, $272
9th: Philip Borsa, Redford, Mich., five bass, 15-8, $242
10th: Brian Ruetz, Toledo, Ohio, five bass, 15-5, $212
Coming up
The next BFL Michigan Division tournament is scheduled for Aug. 28 at the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich. After the fifth Michigan Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 21-23 Regional Championship at Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky., where boaters will compete for a top prize of a Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and a Chevy pick-up, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger 198VX.
About FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.