Clift wins co-angler title
Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division tournament on the Ohio River. For his victory, Martinkovic earned $6,244.
“I divided my days evenly between areas in creeks and the main river,” said Martinkovic, who earned his third career victory and 19th top-10 finish in FLW competition. “The main river fishes better in the afternoon when the sun is high so that’s where I wanted to end up.
“There are six creeks within a four mile stretch near the takeoff ramp that I knew I wanted to focus on,” continued Martinkovic. “I was bouncing around to different spots looking for shad up on flats.”
Martinkovic said he caught the majority of his fish on a white spinnerbait and a shad-colored crankbait.
“I ended up catching my biggest bass on a custom-made jig,” said Martinkovic. “I was able to bring over 20 fish over the course of the competition. It was a solid day of fishing.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 12-9, $4,244 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Dan South, Corydon, Ind., five bass, 7-12, $2,122
3rd: Brad, Baldwin, Waynesville, Ohio, three bass , 7-8, $1,413
4th: Jim Vitaro, Wooster, Ohio, five bass, 7-6, $990
5th: George Brown, Camby, Ind., five bass, 6-12, $849
6th: David Spivey, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-10, $778
7th: Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 6-5, $707
8th: Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., five bass, 6-3, $637
9th: Gary Dees, Hamilton, Ohio, four bass, 6-0, $566
10th: Jeremie Barker, Middletown, Ohio, three bass, 5-10, $495
Baldwin caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $600.
Justin Clift of Indianapolis, Indiana, weighed in four bass totaling 6 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win $2,118 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Justin Clift, Indianapolis, Ind., four bass, 6-6, $2,118
2nd: J.R. Selke, Waynesville, Ohio, two bass, 5-11, $1,059
3rd: Mark Heidt, Versailles, Ind., three bass, 4-10, $706
4th: Seth Fricke, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 4-8, $494
5th: Kenny Mitchell, Franklin, Ohio, four bass, 4-1, $424
6th: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, two bass, 4-0, $388
7th: Larry Spivey, Middletown, Ohio, two bass, 3-14, $353
8th: Doug Napier, West Alexandria, Ohio, two bass, 3-9, $300
8th: Brian Short, Oxford, Ohio, three bass, 3-9, $300
10th: Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, four bass, 3-8, $247
Selke caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $295.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 15-17 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 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 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.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
