Robinson wins BFL Regional on Barren River

Arning wins co-angler title

Boater Tommy Robinson of Westland, Mich., earned a Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower outboard along with a Chevy 1500 Silverado as the winner of the BFL Regional Championship on the Barren River. Angler: Tommy Robinson.

October 22, 2011 • MLF • Archives

SCOTTSVILLE, Ky. – Tommy Robinson of Westland, Mich., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional on the Barren River Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 40 pounds, 12 ounces. For his victory, Robinson won a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor plus a Chevy 1500 Silverado and a berth in the BFL All-American Championship tournament.

This regional tournament featured the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from the Great Lakes, Hoosier, Illini and Michigan divisions of the BFL circuit.

“I was fishing as far back in Peter’s Creek as you could get,” said Robinson. “I was bumpin’ stumps in 3 to 5 feet of water for the entire tournament. I started flipping with an EmGem by Garneau and then changed to Strike King 1.5 crankbaits, which is what I caught most of my big fish on. There were a lot of guys fishing in the creek, but they were mostly using jigs and flipping soft plastics. I was the only one throwing a crankbait.

“I literally paddled my way to the championship,” Robinson continued. “On the last day, I lost my trolling motor so had to use a wooden paddle to keep me in my key area. No one fished the creek on the final day with me, and I knew I had a pretty good chance of winning when on my second cast I caught a 3-pounder. I knew then that the area had replenished and I had a good shot at winning.”

The remaining top six boaters and also qualifying for the BFL All-American:

2nd: John Wright, Shelbyville, Ill., 15 bass, 39-0, $1,500

3rd: Eric Snow, Clarksville, Ind., 13 bass, 33-14, $1,100

4th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., 13 bass, 30-8, $1,000

5th: Derek Jenkel, Pinkneyville, Ill., 12 bass, 23-10, $900

6th: Dick Shaffer, Rockford, Ohio, 10 bass, 23-1, $800

Rounding out the top 10 boaters:

7th: Jimmy Johnson, La Crosse, Wis., nine bass, 22-10, $700

8th: Todd Hensley, New Albany, Ind., 10 bass, 22-0, $650

9th: Mike Brewington, Columbus, Ind., 10 bass, 20-15, $600

10th: Aaron McManaway, Altamont, Ill., nine bass, 20-11, $550

Arning co-angler champion

Aaron Arning of Walnut Hill, Ill., won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces. He took home a 198VX Ranger boat including a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor along with a berth in the BFL All-American Championship.

The remaining top six co-anglers and also qualifying for the BFL All-American:

2nd: David Michaelis, Commerce, Mich., nine bass, 22-5, $750

3rd: Gary Melson, Louisville, Ky., nine bass, 19-0, $550

4th: Cody Kelley, Schoolcraft, Mich., seven bass, 17-14, $500

5th: Nathan Halliday, Morehead, Ky., nine bass, 17-4, $450

6th: Dustin Burk, Brookville, Ind., nine bass, 17-0, $400

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

7th: Joey Von Hoene, Erlanger, Ky., seven bass, 16-13, $350

8th: Robby Tufte, Fountain City, Wis., eight bass, 16-9, $325

9th: Doug Ruster, Greenfield, Ind., eight bass, 15-13, $300

10th: Scott Moon, Beech Grove, Ind., eight bass, 15-12, $275

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 one of six regional tournaments and are competing 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 EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW Outdoors on Facebook at Facebook.com/BassFishingLeague and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.

About FLW Outdoors

FLW Outdoors is the largest tournament-fishing organization in the world, offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing at FantasyFishing.com, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.