Gary Ginter of Maplewood, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the first FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament of 2016 on Grand Lake. For his victory, Ginter took home $5,905.
“I started out my day on the south side of the lake fishing canals that I had marked in practice,” said Ginter, who earned his third win in FLW competition. “I had to adjust my pattern a bit due to boat traffic and ended up at my backup spot targeting wood and caught a few fish fairly quick.”
Ginter said he flipped the wood using a custom black soft-plastic creature bait.
“I moved it slow with short hops,” said Ginter. “It resembles a Zoom Brush Hog and it got me through the seven areas I hit throughout my day.”
At 12:30 p.m., Ginter said he had four fish in the boat and decided to finish the event running his bait along rocks.
“After the sun came out, I filled my limit and culled when I could,” said Ginter. “I ended up with nine keepers. Basically I paid attention to what others were doing and did the opposite.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Gary Ginter, Maplewood, Ohio, five bass, 13-1, $5,905
2nd: Todd Hahn, Heath, Ohio, five bass, 12-0, $2,453
3rd: Scott Tangeman, Chickasaw, Ohio, five bass, 11-4, $2,375
4th: Kenneth Pincombe, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 10-15, $1,063
4th: Dan Moran, London, Ohio, five bass, 10-15, $1,063
6th: Brad Baldwin, Waynesville, Ohio, five bass, 10-14, $899
7th: Miles Johnson, Kettering, Ohio, five bass, 10-4, $1,118
8th: Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 10-3, $695
8th: Ray Philhower, Milford, Ohio, four bass, 10-3, $695
10th: Bob Abrams, Williamsburg, Ohio, four bass, 10-0, $572
Tangeman caught a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $740.
Brandon Knapmeyer of Union, Kentucky, weighed in four bass totaling 8 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,436.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Brandon Knapmeyer, Union, Ky., four bass, 8-2, $2,436
2nd: John Long, New Bremen, Ohio, four bass, 8-1, $1,016
2nd: Dennis Sepeck, Bethel, Ohio, three bass, 8-1, $1,016
4th: Brett Warrick, Westerville, Ohio, five bass, 7-9, $568
5th: Mark Henderson, Martinsville, Ohio, four bass, 7-3, $487
6th: Jacob Bierman, Cincinnati, Ohio, four bass, 6-15, $447
7th: Owen Warner, Fairborn, Ohio, three bass, 6-9, $406
8th: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, three bass, 5-12, $345
8th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 5-12, $345
10th: William Miller, Perry, Ohio, one bass, 5-11, $651
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Miller caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $367.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. 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
