West Frankfort’s Shoraga wins FLW Bass Fishing League Illini Division Finale on Lake Shelbyville
SHELBYVILLE, Ill. – Dan Shoraga of West Frankfort, Illinois, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 1 ounce, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Illini Division Super Tournament on Lake Shelbyville, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 14 ounces. For his win, Shoraga took home $8,204.
“I caught my fish this week in areas around the State Park,” said Shoraga, who earned his second career win in BFL competition. “I would start my mornings fishing a rock pile in Eagle Creek and would fish my way down to the Finley area. I would leave the rock pile between 8:30 and 9 a.m. and fish laydowns for the rest of the day.
“I didn’t have many bites,” Shoraga continued. “I only had 7 or 8 keepers on Day One, and only 5 keepers on Day Two. The rock pile that I would start on was a community hole, but I had a good boat draw and was one of the first boats there. Then I had around 4 or 5 different laydowns that I would cycle through.”
Shoraga said that he caught the majority of his fish on a Texas-rigged black and blue Yamamoto Senko, but also managed to put a few fish in the boat with a green-pumpkin-colored tube as well.
“I think the Senko was the key for me,” Shoraga went on to say. “I was fishing around a dozen or so other boats and they were not catching them as good as I was. I think the Senko was the difference.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Dan Shoraga, West Frankfort, Ill., 10 bass, 23-14, $6,204 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Andrew Harper, Shelbyville, Ill., 10 bass, 21-1, $2,902
3rd: John Wright, Windsor, Ill., 10 bass, 20-13, $1,666
4th: Keith Bailey, Simpson, Ill., eight bass, 17-6, $1,168
5th: Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., nine bass, 16-10, $1,001
6th: Terry Holsapple, Greenup, Ill., seven bass, 15-15, $917
7th: Marion Cordes, Sullivan, Ill., nine bass, 15-9, $834
8th: Derek Jenkel, Pinckneyville, Ill., eight bass, 14-13, $751
9th: Toby Corn, Calvert City, Ky., five bass, 14-12, $1,282
10th: Travis Gillett, Salem, Ill., seven bass, 14-9, $584
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Corn caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $615.
Dave Dobill of Royalton, Illinois, won the co-angler division and earned $2,502 with a two-day cumulative catch of six bass weighing 17 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Dave Dobill, Royalton, Ill., six bass, 17-13, $2,502
2nd: Tim Renth, Hoyleton, Ill., six bass, 13-6, $1,251
3rd: David Jones, Machinaw, Ill., six bass, 12-15, $834
4th: Aaron Arning, Walnut Hill, Ill., five bass, 11-1, $584
5th: Jeffrey Lee, Olney, Ill., four bass, 7-9, $500
6th: Jarred Metje, Woodlawn, Ill., four bass, 7-9, $459
7th: Bruce O”Brien, Normal, Ill., four bass, 7-2, $417
8th: Chuck Sabia, Ottawa, Ill., two bass, 6-11, $575
9th: Gary Denney, Livingston, Ill., two bass, 6-11, $334
10th: Steve Bowcock, Bridgeport, Ill., four bass, 6-7, $292
Bill Higgins of Albers, Illinois, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $307.
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.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament 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 BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat: @FLWFishing.
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