McClain fished only on instinct
Howard wins co-angler title
LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Frank McClain of Scottsburg, Ind., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division tournament of 2014 on the Ohio River at Tanner’s Creek. For his victory, McClain earned $6,235.
“The bad thing was that I didn’t get to practice,” McClain sad. “I hadn’t been on the Ohio River since fall, so I was just winging it.”
McClain said that he made a 25-mile run toward the dam where he expected to see fewer competitors and more stable water.
“I started fishing some flats in some creeks and by 9:20 in the morning I had my limit,” McClain said. “I ended up culling five times.
“There was a lot of bait around submerged stumps,” explained McClain. “I knew the area pretty well and I would throw to the dark spots that were stumps. The bass and the shad fry were using the stumps as cover. As soon as I caught my first fish I knew what to target.”
McClain said that he used an 1/8-ounce Hawgback Lures buzzbait in a custom color to catch his winning limit.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, five bass, 9-11, $2,118
3rd: Michael Manor, Sidney, Ohio, five bass, 9-6, $1,413
4th: Charlie Smith, Union, Ky., five bass, 8-11, $988 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
5th: Brian Mahon, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 8-5, $847
6th: Robert Eldridge, Williamstown, Ky., five bass, 8-3, $741
6th: Todd Hensley, New Albany, Ind., five bass, 8-3, $741
8th: Tim Burke, Petersburg, Ky., five bass, 7-11, $635
9th: Ken Garbe, Loveland, Ohio, five bass, 7-10, $565
10th: Ronald Nutter, Newark, Ohio, five bass, 7-9, $494
Complete results can be found here.
Trevor Howard of Florence, Ky., weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 9 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $2,118 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: George Ginter, Sidney, Ohio, five bass, 7-1, $1,059
3rd: Matt Wheeler, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 6-5, $706
4th: Gary Hoffman, Stoutsville, Ohio, five bass, 6-4, $494
5th: Dennis Sepeck, Bethel, Ohio, five bass, 5-12, $424
6th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, five bass, 5-2, $388
7th: Dave Roberts, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 4-12, $353
8th: J.R. Selke, Waynesville, Ohio, three bass, 4-11, $300
8th: Jason Skipworth, Rising Sun, Ind., four bass, 4-11, $300
10th: Duane Fry, Bellefontaine, Ohio, one bass, 4-9, $247
Complete results can be found here.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 16-18 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
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.