Chris King of South Amherst, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds, 4 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division Super Tournament on the Detroit River with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 44 pounds, 1 ounce. For his victory, King earned $6,668.
“On Saturday morning I changed my strategy at the last minute, which made for an interesting start,” said King of his second career win in FLW competition. “Normally I head to Lake Erie, but I ended up on Lake St. Clair because I felt like I had some better spots there.
“I focused on hitting taller weeds,” continued King. “I was sitting in about 16 feet of water and was drop-shotting minnow baits.”
King said he preferred using a Berkley Gulp Minnow and Strike King Shad on his drop-shot rig.
“On Saturday the wind switched and shortened our day, a bit but I was still able to bring in around 15 keepers,” said King.
On Sunday, King said he ran to Lake Erie and targeted deep structure using the drop-shot rig.
“I don’t know if it was the time of day or the particular spot I was on, but I was able to dial in on a school of fish around 11 a.m.,” said King. “My co-angler and I caught nearly 40 fish and I ended up catching enough weight to win.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Chris King, South Amherst, Ohio, 10 bass, 44-1, $4,668 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Mike Trombly, Perrysburg, Ohio, 10 bass, 43-15, $2,334
3rd: David Reault, Livonia, Mich., 10 bass, 42-8, $1,557
4th: Michael Sitko, Pinckney, Mich., 10 bass, 40-12, $1,089
5th: Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., 10 bass, 40-11, $934
6th: Heath Wagner, Angola, Ind., 10 bass, 40-8, $856
7th: Terry Bucciarelli, Ypsilanti, Mich., 10 bass, 40-5, $778
8th: Tom Beale, Rochester Hills, Mich., 10 bass, 39-6, $700
9th: Charles Mackintosh, Brighton, Mich., 10 bass, 38-6, $622
10th: John Devries, Fishers, Ind., 10 bass, 37-11, $545
King also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $547.
Brian Ruetz of Toledo, Ohio, won the co-angler division and $2,334 with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 41 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Brian Ruetz, Toledo, Ohio, 10 bass, 41-2, $2,334
2nd: Justin Sawyer, Dearborn Heights, Mich., 10 bass, 38-2, $1,167
3rd: David Michaelis, Commerce, Mich., 10 bass, 37-8, $779
4th: Mark Lyons, Marion, Ind., 10 bass, 36-15, $545
5th: Tony Mitchell, Plainwell, Mich., 10 bass, 33-3, $467
6th: Adam Suliman, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., 10 bass, 32-15, $428
7th: James Shetler, Newcomerstown, Ohio, 10 bass, 31-10, $389
8th: Leo Reiter, Greenup, Ill., 10 bass, 30-2, $350
9th: Tom Cooley, Novi, Mich., 10 bass, 29-15, $311
10th: Steven Hatala, Saint Clair Shores, Mich., nine bass, 29-14, $272
Lyons caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $274.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. 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 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW 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 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide 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.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
