Spivey ends Ohio River tourney on top

Boater David Spivey of Hamilton, Ohio, earned $3,848 July 23 as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division event on the Ohio River. Angler: David Spivey.

July 23, 2005 • MLF • Archives

CANNELTON, Ind. – Boater David Spivey of Hamilton, Ohio, earned $3,848 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division event on the Ohio River. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Hoosier Division events and earned Spivey 200 points in the Boater Division.

Spivey’s winning catch of four bass weighed 9 pounds, 14 ounces. Spivey threw tubes and white spinnerbaits around woody cover in shallow creeks to catch his bass. He earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Bombardier contingency bonus.

Finishing second was Michael Trueblood of Madison with five bass weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces that earned him $1,924. Marty Sisk of Evansville claimed $1,255 as the third-place finisher thanks to three bass weighing 7 pounds. In fourth was Craig Mills of Hamilton, Ohio, with five bass weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces worth $979, and finishing fifth and earning $805 was Donald Paulin of Tell City with three bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces.

Trueblood earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Frank McClain of Scottsburg took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $605 for a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a green tube.

Walter Class of Bloomfield earned $1,855 as the co-angler winner, thanks to two bass weighing 3 pounds, 10 ounces that he caught on a spinnerbait and a Berkley Power Worm.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers were (in a second-place tie) Mike Fanthrop of Union, Ky., and Barry Ward of Louisville, Ky. Fanthrop caught one bass weighing 3 pounds, 8 ounces and Ward caught three bass weighing 3 pounds, 8 ounces. Each co-angler earned $768. In fourth was Daniel Langton of Haubstadt with two bass weighing 2 pounds, 12 ounces worth $472, and in fifth place was Ken Heckel of Lamar with one bass weighing 2 pounds, 6 ounces worth $388.

Fanthrop earned $285 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with his 3-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a crankbait.

The Hoosier Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg.

Following the regular season, the Hoosier 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 Hoosier 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, Great Lakes and Michigan 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.