Cumbo wins co-angler title
– David Ehrentraut of Locke, New York, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the third FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Northeast Division tournament on Oneida Lake presented by Navionics. For his victory, Ehrentraut received $4,463.
Ehrentraut said he spent the tournament combing through grass edges scattered around the lake. He said he preferred a specific type of cover and allotted 40 minutes for each area.
“I was looking for grass edges that had a little bit of a drop-off,” said Ehrentraut, who earned his first win in BFL competition. “In some areas the drop was 2 feet, in others it was less. Basically, I was looking for a hard bottom.
“On my first mid-lake stretch, I caught two keepers right away,” Ehrentraut continued. “I headed back toward the takeoff ramp and caught another before running near Lakeport to catch one more. After that I fished a couple of humps and ran the bank.”
Ehrentraut said he threw two baits during the event – a Gold Flash Minnow-colored Keitech Swing Impact Swimbait and a drop-shot rig with a Strike King KVD Dream Shot.
“The Dream Shot caught more fish, but the Keitech brought in the heaviest ones,” said Ehrentraut. “I caught about 16 fish throughout the day. I put the right things together out there and it worked for me.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: David Ehrentraut Locke, N.Y., five bass, 18-9, $4,463
2nd: Randy Caruso, Liberty, N.Y., five bass, 17-12, $2,872
3rd: Ken Golub, Pittsford, N.Y., five bass, 17-1, $1,489
4th: Craig Nelson, Mather, Pa., five bass, 17-0, $1,041
5th: Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., five bass, 16-12, $893
6th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., five bass, 16-11, $818
7th: Robert Parmer, Linden, Pa., five bass, 16-5, $744
8th: Ian Renfrew, Phoenix, N.Y., five bass, 16-4, $669
9th: Ed Casey, Whiteford, Md., five bass, 16-1, $595
10th: Matt Stasiak, Pittsburgh, Pa., five bass, 15-15, $521
Caruso caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $640.
Bryan Cumbo of West Wyoming, Pennsylvania, weighed in five bass totaling 16 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,232.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Bryan Cumbo, West Wyoming, Pa., five bass, 16-13, $2,232
2nd: Michael Barton, Endicott, N.Y., five bass, 16-10, $1,116
3rd: Joseph Wood, Westport, Mass., five bass, 15-6, $743
4th: Daniel Hann, Williamson, N.Y., five bass, 15-5, $521
5th: Bill Klaips, Shavertown, Pa., five bass, 15-4, $446
6th: Drew Tiano, Hudson, N.Y., five bass, 14-5, $409
7th: Brian Setlock, Lancaster, Pa., five bass, 14-4, $372
8th: Andrew Benbenek, Cicero, N.Y., five bass, 13-10, $335
9th: Ken Maurer, Herndon, Pa., five bass, 13-7, $298
10th: Michael Bahnweg, Union Dale, Pa., five bass, 13-6, $260
Daryl Christadore of Hampton, Connecticut, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $320.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. 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 are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
