Honnerlaw Hunkered Down for Big O Win

Gentry nets co-angler title in Gator Division event

Bryan Honnerlaw of Moore Haven, Florida, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the second T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Gator Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee presented by Navionics. For his efforts, Honnerlaw earned the top award of $5,612.

“I saw some bass in practice that were chasing shad, so that told me what I needed to be focusing on for the tournament,” says Honnerlaw, who notched his first career win in BFL competition. “We fished the North Shore, specifically a hole in the grass with a shell bed.”

Honnerlaw used a variety of baits during the event, but relied heavily on a 3/8-ounce green-pumpkin-colored Z-Man ChatterBait to catch his fish.

“I pulled up to the area and on my second cast I caught one,” says Honnerlaw. “I fished the ChatterBait with a slow retrieve. We just came off of a cold front, so they didn’t want to chase anything faster than that.”

According to Honnerlaw he caught around 60 bass throughout the day.

“There weren’t a lot of big ones, but I did catch one close to 6 pounds,” says Honnerlaw. “I’m just glad that the bass I found in practice stayed put for more than a day.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Bryan Honnerlaw, Moore Haven, Fla., five bass, 21-5, $5,612

2^nd:         Anthony Ford, New Smyrna, Fla., five bass, 19-15, $2,706

3^rd:          Nathan Thomas, Weirsdale, Fla., five bass, 19-10, $1,899

4^th:          Mikey Keyso Jr., North Port, Fla., five bass, 19-1, $1,263

5^th:          Richard Sasina, Port Saint Lucie, Fla., five bass, 18-0, $1,082

6^th:          Kyle Monti, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 17-15, $992

7^th:          Greg Schultz, Naples, Fla., five bass, 17-10, $1,202

8^th:          Norman Pellegrini, Windermere, Fla., five bass, 17-9, $1,672

9^th:          Fred George, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 17-5, $722

10^th:        Kyle Walters, Grant-Valkaria, Fla., five bass, 17-4, $599

10^th:        Bradley MacQueen, West Palm Beach, Fla., five bass, 17-4, $599

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Pellegrini caught an 8-pound, 13-ounce largemouth – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $860.

Gentry wins co-angler title

Roy Gentry of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, weighed in five bass totaling 22 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $3,136.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Roy Gentry, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., five bass, 22-9, $3,136

2^nd:         Bill Wight, Punta Gorda, Fla., five bass, 17-13, $1,353

3^rd:          Junior Iriban, Lantana, Fla., five bass, 17-8, $905

4^th:          Steve Smith, Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 17-6, $631

5^th:          Anthony Valachovic, Coral Springs, Fla., five bass, 15-3, $741

6^th:          Adam Hernandez, Miami, Fla., five bass, 14-7, $496

7^th:          Chris Baker, Wesley Chapel, Fla., five bass, 14-0, $501

8^th:          Jai Hunter Jr., Deland, Fla., five bass, 13-12, $406

9^th:          Nik Kayler, Apopka, Fla., five bass, 13-6, $361

10^th:        Kenneth Guy, Miramar, Fla., five bass, 13-5, $316

Gentry also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $430.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.