Magic Spot Carries Martinkovic to Victory

Sykes wins co-angler title on Kentucky Lake

BENTON, Ky. – Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, weighed a three-day total of 11 bass totaling 38 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake presented by Mercury Saturday. For his victory, Martinkovic took home a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy 1500 Silverado as well as entry into the 2015 BFL All-American presented by Chevy. This regional tournament featured the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Buckeye, Great Lakes, Illini and Michigan divisions.

“In practice, I checked an area where I had remembered catching fish about five years ago,” said Martinkovic, who picked up the second BFL win of his career. “It was out of the wind, and I caught 18 pounds in about 20 minutes. It was one of those spots you dream of finding in a tournament. The fish stayed there all week and I could barely sleep before the tournament.

“I caught 18 pounds in about 10 minutes on day one,” Martinkovic continued. “I caught my limit almost as quickly on day two.”

Martinkovic’s magic spot was a shallow shell bed that had current from the fast-rising water pulling over it. He said the shell bed showed up as a visible dark spot on the first two days. The third day of the tournament was a different story. High winds and 2-foot waves made it difficult for Martinkovic to effectively fish his prime area. To compound his problems, when he left late in the day to try and salvage a limit his trolling motor broke with two hours to go.

“I thought for sure I had lost the tournament,” said Martinkovic after only bringing one bass to the scale on day three. “There were two people about 7 pounds behind me. I know Kentucky Lake fishes tough in the fall, but I felt for sure I needed more than one good fish to win. I was shocked.

“I’ve had a lot of close calls in some big tournaments,” Martinkovic went on to say. “I lost the All-American in 2008 because of a dead fish penalty. It feels great to get this win and I’m glad to be going back to the All-American.”

Martinkovic’s key baits were a clear Heddon Zara Spook, a homemade chartreuse and white-colored vibrating jig and a ½-ounce Strictly Bass Lures spinnerbait in the same colors.

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2015 BFL All-American:

1^st:           Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, 11 bass, 38-11, Ranger Z518C with 200-horsepower outboard + Chevy 1500 Silverado

2^nd:          Garrett McDowell, Mattoon, Ill., 12 bass, 38-11, $1,500

3^rd:          Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., 12 bass, 34-2, $1,100

4^th:           Mike Barnes, Mackinaw, Ill., nine bass, 31-13, $1,000

5^th:           Randy Ramsey, Ceresco, Mich., 10 bass, 30-11, $900

6^th:           Shane Haslett, Beecher City, Ill., eight bass, 28-15, $800

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

7^th:           Jason Skutt, Menomonie, Wis., eight bass, 28-8, $700

8^th:           Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., six bass, 24-5, $650

9^th:           Luke Budde, Waterloo, Ill., seven bass, 23-13, $600

10^th:        Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, 10 bass, 23-6, $550              

Complete results can be found by clicking here.

Sykes wins co-angler title

Ryan Sykes of Hamilton, Ohio, won the co-angler division with a three-day total of 10 bass totaling 25 pounds, 7 ounces. For his efforts, Sykes took home a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard along with a berth in the 2015 BFL All-American tournament.

The top six co-angers that qualified for the 2015 BFL All-American:

1^st:           Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 25-7, Ranger Z518C with 200-horsepower outboard

2^nd:          Eddie Dean, Ashton, W.Va., seven bass, 24-8, $750

3^rd:          Kyle Rabelhofer, Silver Lake, Wis., eight bass, 22-0, $550

4^th:           Shawn Overton, Coal Valley, Ill., eight bass, 21-0, $500

5^th:           Mark Lyons, Marion, Ind., seven bass, 18-10, $450

6^th:           Jay Jeffries, Celina, Ohio, six bass, 17-7, $400

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

7^th:           Ron Check, Prairie Du Chien, Wis., four bass, 17-1, $350

8^th:           Chad Schultz, Roscoe, Ill., six bass, 16-6, $325

9^th:           Aaron Arning, Walnut Hill, Ill., six bass, 15-9, $300

10^th:        Kim Sapetti, Chatham, Ill., three bass, 13-10, $275

Complete co-angler results can be found by clicking here.

The BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake was hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

About FLW

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.