Houston Stands Tall on Ohio River

Hoffman lands co-angler top prize

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Brandon Houston of Burlington, Kentucky, weighed a two-day total of 10 bass totaling 18 pounds, 10 ounces to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division Super Tournament on the Ohio River at Tanner’s Creek Sunday. For his victory, Houston earned $5,077.

“I stayed in one creek the whole time,” said Houston, who earned the first BFL win of his career. “I caught all my fish from two key banks. The first day they were eating spinnerbaits and crankbaits. The second day I started out with spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but they didn’t want them. So, I picked up my flippin’ stick and a green pumpkin-colored tube and started flipping laydowns, or anything that would hold fish on those same banks. That’s how I caught them on day two.”

Houston said that the spinnerbait he threw was made by War Eagle and that his tube was made by Strike King, but declined to elaborate about his crankbait. He said that the key to his productive areas was finding larger shad than were present in the rest of the creek.

“Heading back to weigh-in on day two I was feeling pretty good,” said Houston about his tournament-best 10-pound, 7-ounce limit.  “I caught a 3-pounder and a 4-pounder to start the day. I knew after I filled out my limit that those other boys would have to whack them. It feels great to win. I’ve been close before, but this is a lot better than second.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

2^nd:          Todd Hensley, New Albany, Ind., nine bass, 13-12, $2,539

3^rd:          Thomas Foster, Terre Haute, Ind., 10 bass, 13-9, $1,694

4^th:           Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 13-7, $1,185

5^th:           Craig Mills, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 12-3, $1,015

6^th:           James Pickett, Trafalgar, Ind., nine bass, 11-13, $931

7^th:           Larry Dowell, Louisville, Ky., seven bass, 10-12, $846

8^th:           Ken Garbe, Loveland, Ohio, 10 bass, 10-11, $762

9^th:           Lincoln Bowen, Crothersville, Ind., seven bass, 10-10, $677

10^th:        Dan Pardue, Morgantown, Ind., eight bass, 9-6, $592              

Complete results can be found by clicking here.

Hoffman wins co-angler title

Gary Hoffman of Stoutsville, Ohio, weighed in a two-day total of five bass totaling 9 pounds, 4 ounces to win $2,532 in the co-angler division Sunday.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

2^nd:          Gerald Shaw, Pendleton, Ind., six bass, 8-10, $1,266

3^rd:          Mark Dehart, Brownstown, Ind., five bass, 8-6, $846

4^th:           Brandon Knapmeyer, Florence, Ky., six bass, 8-4, $591

5^th:           Jared Robinson, Vallonia, Ind., seven bass, 8-2, $506

6^th:           Matt Orschell, Lawrenceburg, Ind., seven bass, 8-1, $464

7^th:           Charlie Kuebler, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 6-1, $422

8^th:           James Mullanix, Anderson, Ind., four bass, 5-12, $380

9^th:           Dylan Christenberry, Spencer, Ind., four bass, 5-5, $338

10^th:        Joshua Jenkins, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 5-4, $295

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. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. 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.