Dill wins American Fishing Series event on Lake of the Ozarks
Bohlke wins co-angler title
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – Pro James Dill of Laurie, Mo., caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the FLW American Fishing Series Central Division tournament on Lake of the Ozarks with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 43 pounds even. For his victory, Dill earned $22,121 and a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard motor.
“The day started off a little strange because of the weather that was supposed to move in,” Dill said. “I had been running 50 miles for my fish. And the weather wasn’t doing anything this morning, so we ran 50 miles and fished and it got better as the day went. I caught 15 keepers to get what I got.”
Dill said he caught all of his fish during the tournament on a jig.
“They really turned on for me today,” Dill said. “The last two days I went through probably eight keepers and then left them alone, but today it wasn’t like that. I could pick everything and get what I could.
“This win feels really good,” Dill added. “I’ve had a lot of support from my family and been close a lot of times, so it feels really good to finally win one.”
Rounding out the top five pros were:
2nd: Shawn Kowal, Linn Creek, Mo., 15 bass, 42-0, $7,521
3rd: Earl Garrison IV, Bull Shoals, Ark., 14 bass, 41-1, $5,309
4th: Steve Ives, Rockford, Ill., 15 bass, 40-5, $4,424
5th: Bub Taylor, Tontitown, Ark., 12 bass, 39-8, $3,982
Marty Bohlke Jr. of Nixa, Mo., won the Co-angler Division and $8,930 cash, with a three-day total of seven bass weighing 30 pounds even.
Bohlke caught five bass weighing 23-3 Thursday while fishing with pro Rob Bartholomew of Fort Madison, Iowa, to open the tournament in first place. On Friday he zeroed but still managed to make the top-10 cut in second place while fishing with pro Roger Harp of Huntsville, Ark. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with two bass weighing 6-13 while fishing with Kowal.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were:
2nd: Michael Penix, Lewisburg, Tenn., nine bass, 25-12, $3,572
3rd: Rickey Alexander, New Lenox, Ill., seven bass, 22-5, $1,786
4th: Jeremy Huddleston, Jefferson City, Mo., eight bass, 22-3, $1,563
5th: Mark Horton, Nicholasville, Ky., nine bass, 20-14, $1,340
The top pro and co-angler based on point standings from each of the FLW American Fishing Series divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast and Texas – will qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 50 pros and co-anglers from each division also qualify for the American Fishing Series Invitational on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., Nov. 4-6, with the winning pro and co-angler also advancing to the Forrest Wood Cup.
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 ; .