No Practice, No Problem for Vitaro
Long wins co-angler title on Indian Lake
Jim Vitaro of Wooster, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament on Indian Lake presented by Navionics. For his victory, Vitaro took home $7,422.
“I actually fished the Costa Series event on the Potomac River this weekend, so I didn’t get a chance to practice,” says Vitaro, who earned the third win of his FLW career. “I ended up driving all night and got into town at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning. With no up-to-date knowledge of the lake, I just went fishing and hoped for the best.
“I spent the day up north on a 30-yard section of flat lily pads with milfoil mixed in,” Vitaro continues. “The bass were between the pads and the rock on the bank, so I picked up a frog and got to work.”
Vitaro said he caught his limit using a Leopard-colored Strike King KVD Sexy Frog.
“I threw the frog to the bank and would walk it three times,” says Vitaro. “That’s when they’d bite. I gave them three seconds, then would cast again. I did that all day.”
With 10 minutes left to compete, Vitaro said he caught a 5-pounder – the largest bass of the tournament.
“With less than an hour to go, I knew I was going to catch a big one,” says Vitaro. “I threw the frog to some pads about 15 yards from my primary stretch and the fish blew up on it in a hole. I can’t believe how well my tournament went considering the circumstances.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Jim Vitaro, Wooster, Ohio, five bass, 13-1, $5,422 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Dan Fry, Marysville, Ohio, five bass, 11-11, $2,236
3rd: Dan Moran, London, Ohio, five bass, 10-9, $1,492
4th: Sean Wieda, Florence, Ky., five bass, 10-8, $1,043
5th: Dick Shaffer, Rockford, Ohio, five bass, 10-1, $894
6th: Gary Edwards, Milton, Ky., five bass, 9-14, $820
7th: Chris Bulaw, Wheaton, Ill., five bass, 9-13, $745
8th: Jeremiah Sall, Wintersville, Ohio, five bass, 9-7, $671
9th: Mike Combs, Frenchburg, Ky., five bass, 9-5, $596
10th: Steve Hatfield, Ashland, Ohio, five bass, 9-3, $522
Complete results can be found here.
Vitaro’s 5-pound, 2-ounce kicker bass earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $650.
Long wins co-angler title
John Long of New Bremen, Ohio, weighed in five bass totaling 9 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,236.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: John Long, New Bremen, Ohio, five bass, 9-2, $2,236
2nd: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, five bass, 8-12, $1,118
3rd: Ryan Rich, Eaton, Ohio, five bass, 8-5, $745
4th: Brett Warrick, Westerville, Ohio, five bass, 8-1, $522
5th: Billy French, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 7-15, $447
6th: Keith Stewart, Fort Jennings, Ohio, five bass, 7-11, $391
6th: Robert Fulton, Ray, Ohio, five bass, 7-11, $391
8th: Pat White, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 7-4, $335
9th: Jeffrey Yost, Zanesfield, Ohio, five bass, 7-2, $298
10th: Mat Smiddy, Wauseon, Ohio, five bass, 7-1, $261
Dylan Sibley of Strasburg, Ohio, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $325.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.