Toby Corn of West Frankfort, Ill., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Illini Division event on Rend Lake. For his victory, Corn earned $6,794.
Corn used his local knowledge to edge out the field by for his second BFL win on Rend Lake. “The lake fished very similar,” Corn said. “I started guiding there when I was 16; I’ve literally fished tournaments my whole life there.
“I was fishing main-lake point bushes in the morning, and in the afternoon I was stroking a jig like we do on Kentucky Lake,” Corn added. “Around noon I pulled up on one spot, and I had a 5-pounder and two 3-pounders in about eight casts.
“The wind was a major hindrance for me this tournament,” Corn went on to say. “I could not fish my prime areas. The area I caught my three big fish on I hadn’t fished all year.”
Corn said he fished a black and blue Lunker Lure Rattleback jig in 3/8- and 1/2-ounce sizes on 10-pound-test line so that it would fall faster and trigger a reaction strike.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
| 2nd: | Kenny Hemmen | St. Louis, Mo. | five bass | 14-8 | $1,897 |
| 3rd: | Kenneth Shadwell | Decatur, Ill. | five bass | 14-4 | $1,265 |
| 4th: | Skip Bennett | Texico, Ill. | five bass | 13-12 | , $885 |
| 5th: | Clay Reeves | Clinton, Ill. | five bass | 13-7 | $759 |
| 6th: | Derek Jenkel | Pinckneyville, Ill. | five bass | 13-2 | $696 |
| 7th: | Robert Atchison | Whittington, Ill. | five bass | 12-13 | $632 |
| 8th: | Neil McCord | West Frankfort, Ill. | five bass | 12-8 | $537 |
| 8th: | Jim Young | Roodhouse, Ill. | five bass | 12-8 | $537 |
| 10th: | Jerry Walker | Zeigler, Ill. | five bass | 12-5 | $443 |
Steve Kehrer of Woodlawn, Ill., and Dale Renth of Albers, Ill., both weighed five-bass limits totaling 12 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to each win $1,423 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
| 3rd: | Chad Buhs | Washington, Ill. | four bass | 10-8 | $633 |
| 4th: | Travis Little | New Athens, Ill. | five bass | 9-14 | $443 |
| 5th: | Scott McCleery | Winchester, Ill. | four bass | 9-5 | $379 |
| 6th: | Keenan Hess | Herrin, Ill. | four bass | 9-1 | $348 |
| 7th: | Ed Flanigan | Ashley, Ill. | five bass | 8-12 | $316 |
| 8th: | Chad Nosbisch | Teutopolis, Ill. | two bass | 8-5 | $285 |
| 9th: | Terry Holsapple | Greenup, Ill. | four bass | 8-2 | $253 |
| 10th: | Brett Wysock | Wilmington, Ill. | five bass | 7-12 | $221 |
The next BFL Illini Division tournament is scheduled for Aug. 10 on the Ohio River in Golconda, Ill. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 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 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit the FLWOutdoors website and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.By: Jody White, Communications Specialist / FLW Outdoors
