Ramsey Roams Flat for Victory
Porento takes co-angler title on St. Clair
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Randy Ramsey of Ceresco, Mich., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division tournament of 2014 on Lake St. Clair. For his victory, Ramsey earned $6,917.
“It was one of those days that everything seemed to go right,” said Ramsey, who earned the third BFL win of his career. “Every time I switched lures it seemed like I would catch a big one.
“I was fishing in 15 to 16 feet of water and there were some weeds on the bottom,” explained Ramsey. “It seemed like the fish were where the weeds would be a little thicker. I probably caught 20 fish throughout the day. There were a lot of other boats in the area, but for some reason I had a knack for catching the bigger ones.
“I was fishing a big flat,” Ramsey went on to say. “You’d have to run for a mile to find a 1-foot change in the bottom contour. All the fish I weighed in probably came within 100 yards of each other, but not in one exact spot.
“The last fish I caught was a 5-pounder, and when I caught that I thought I would be in the top five,” finished Ramsey. “I weighed in early and took over the lead so I had to wait a long time. It was nerve wracking, but it worked out.”
Ramsey said he caught most of his bass on a Poor Boy’s Baits Erie Darter on a Texas-rig and a drop-shot rig as well as a tube on a 3/8-ounce jig head.
Rounding out the top 10 pros:
2nd: Kyle Greene, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 20-5, $1,958
3rd: Skip Johnson, Goodells, Mich., five bass, 19-14, $1,307
4th: Rob Campbell, Trafalgar, Ind., five bass, 19-13, $914
5th: David Gloden, Greenville, Mich., five bass, 19-9, $783
6th: Ronnie Goshen, Ypsilanti, Mich., five bass, 19-1, $685
6th: Tim Wilson, Gas City, Ind., five bass, 19-1, $685
8th: Frederick Tillman, Muskegon, Mich., five bass, 19-0, $588 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
9th: John Tromley, St. Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 18-13, $522
10th: David Reault, Livonia, Mich., five bass, 18-6, $457
Complete results can be found by clicking here.
Porento wins co-angler title
Paul Porento of Highland, Ind., weighed in a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,958 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
2nd: Marvin Anderson, Russell Springs, Ky., five bass, 18-14, $979
3rd: Garry Collins, Russell Springs, Ky., five bass, 18-1, $653
4th: Cody Kelley, Delton, Mich., five bass, 17-14, $457
5th: Klaus Kuester, Forest Park, Ill., five bass, 17-11, $392
6th: Riley Yon, Bellbrook, Ohio, five bass, 17-10, $359
7th: Nathan Parr, Auburn, Ind., five bass, 17-6, $326
8th: Beau Bickford, Findlay, Ohio, five bass, 17-0, $294
9th: Dennis Mitchell, Malvern, Ark., five bass, 16-14, $261
10th: Robert Killick, Otsego, Mich., five bass, 16-7, $228
Complete co-angler results can be found by clicking 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.