Albertson Smashes ‘Em on Patoka
Burns nets co-angler title in Hoosier Division event
Eighteen-year-old Blake Albertson of Bloomington, Indiana, caught five bass weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Hoosier Division tournament on Patoka Lake. For his efforts, Albertson took home $6,126.
“This is only my fourth time fishing as a boater in the BFL, so to win is pretty crazy,” says Albertson, a former TBF/FLW High School Fishing angler that competed for Bloomington North/South High School. “It was just one of those days where everything went right.”
Albertson fished two areas to catch his limit – a main-lake point and the back of a cut in Lick Fork creek.
“I sat in 18 feet of water and threw into 12 feet on the point,” says Albertson. “There was one spot with a bunch of rock that was especially productive.”
Albertson says he caught four bass on the point – three on a Secret Lures J-Bend Tail Shaker Jig with a Motor Oil-colored Zoom Trick Worm, and one on a ½-ounce Secret Lures MVP Football Jig.
“The fourth was my largest of the day – a 5-pound, 7-ouncer,” says Albertson. “At 10 (a.m.) I caught my fifth in the cut out of some bushes and that’s what I brought in to the scale.”
Albertson’s fifth bass was caught using a Texas-rigged Green Pumpkin Magic-colored Yamamoto Senko.
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Blake Albertson, Bloomington, Ind., five bass, 20-11, $4,126 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Brian Funkhouser, Bloomington, Ind., five bass, 17-0, $1,963
3rd: Ray Philhower, Milford, Ohio, four bass, 15-12, $1,309
4th: Phil Hunt, Connersville, Ind., five bass, 13-11, $916
5th: Lee Mills, Columbus, Ind., five bass, 13-8, $785
6th: George Brown, Camby, Ind., four bass, 12-11, $720
7th: Sean Gillenwater, Bloomington, Ind., four bass, 12-6, $754
8th: John Schroering, Dubois, Ind., four bass, 11-11, $589
9th: Bryce Kalen, Indianapolis, Ind., four bass, 11-7, $523
10th: John Melton, Corydon, Ind., four bass, 10-14, $458
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Andrew Cibak of Chesterton, Indiana, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $530.
Burns wins co-angler title
Albert Burns of Greendale, Indiana, caught three bass weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,051.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Albert Burns, Greendale, Ind., three bass, 12-11, $2,051
2nd: Jonathan Norris, Muncie, Ind., two bass, 9-15, $1,069
3rd: Andy Eaton, Washington, Ind., two bass, 9-13, $743
4th: Travis Edgar, North Webster, Ind., two bass, 7-10, $458
5th: Adrian Stafford, Bloomington, Ind., two bass, 7-7, $393
6th: Jeff Hale, New Castle, Ind., two bass, 6-1, $360
7th: Brad Ingram, Mesa, Ariz., two bass, 5-8, $327
8th: Michael Pelston, Seymour, Ind., two bass, 5-3, $478
8th: Dan Schlegel, Cincinnati, Ohio, two bass, 5-3, $278
10th: Cory Cook, Carrollton, Ky., two bass, 5-1, $267
10th: James McWhorter, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 5-1, $217
Norris caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $88.
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. 5-7 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. 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.