Mull Cracks 22 on Shelbyville
Arning nets co-angler award in Illini Division event
Jeremy Mull of Chatham, Illinois, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Illini Division tournament on Lake Shelbyville presented by Navionics. Mull took home $5,745 for his victory.
Mull says he began his day flipping isolated trees and stumps on the main lake and in coves using a green-pumpkin-colored Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver with a 3/8-ounce weight.
“I caught a 5-pounder first thing in the morning from an isolated tree,” says Mull, who logged his second career-win – both on Lake Shelbyville – in BFL competition. “After that I kept moving and came across a stump that produced six to eight keepers. I flipped to it, headed down the bank and then would return. I did that several times and ended up weighing two bass off of it.”
At 10 a.m. Mull moved out deep to a brush pile, in 16 to 18 feet of water, on a small main-lake point. He says he switched to a Red Bug-colored Zoom Trick Worm with a 5/16-ounce Spot Remover jig head.
“I caught the last two that I weighed within a few minutes of each other and then the bite died off,” says Mull. “I didn’t really do anything special out there – I got the bites needed and I was able to get them in the boat. It was one of those days you dream about having.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Jeremy Mull, Chatham, Ill., five bass, 22-1, $3,745 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Brad Porter, Bluford, Ill., five bass, 16-10, $1,873
3rd: Marion Cordes, Sullivan, Ill., five bass, 16-4, $1,181
4th: Robert Neff, Roodhouse, Ill., five bass, 14-4, $827
5th: Patrick O’Dell, Windsor, Ill., five bass, 14-0, $709
6th: Paul Leonard, Chatham, Ill., five bass, 13-6, $1,095
7th: Haldon Burgener, Moweaqua, Ill., five bass, 13-2, $591
8th: Mike Barnes, Mackinaw, Ill., five bass, 12-15, $832
9th: Chris Johnson, Griggsville, Ill., three bass, 12-12, $443
9th: Greg Mullins, Mount Vernon, Ill., five bass, 12-12, $443
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Leonard caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $445.
Arning wins co-angler title
Aaron Arning of Walnut Hill, Illinois, caught five bass weighing 13 pounds, 2 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $1,793.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Aaron Arning, Walnut Hill, Ill., five bass, 13-2, $1,793
2nd: Archie Eslinger, Paris, Ill., four bass, 10-11, $846
3rd: Brandon Depew, Odin, Ill., five bass, 9-5, $564
4th: Anthony Macon, Greenville, Ill., four bass, 8-4, $367
4th: Jimmy Null, Bethalto, Ill., three bass, 8-4, $367
6th: Edward Helf, Alto Pass, Ill., four bass, 8-0, $310
7th: Ryan Fancher, Olney, Ill., four bass, 7-7, $332
8th: Steven Yeun, Elgin, Ill., four bass, 6-13, $254
9th: Dillon Saffle, Ballwin, Mo., three bass, 6-10, $226
10th: Richard Snodgrass, Bluffs, Ill., two bass, 6-6, $198
Lyle Lehman of Blue Mound, Illinois, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $212.
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.