Hicks wins co-angler title
*** UPDATED ***
David Matual of Chicago, Illinois, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division finale on Lake Erie presented by Evinrude with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 65 pounds even. For his win, Matual earned $31,229.
“I’m shaking, I don’t think the win has set in yet,” said Matual, who earned his first career win as a boater in Rayovac FLW Series competition. “I had a tough practice so I didn’t know what to expect. The cold weather had dropped the surface temperature of the water nearly eight degrees during the week.”
Despite the difficult practice, Matual said he was able to dial in on bass that were chasing baitfish within a 100-foot stretch of reef just south of Pelee Point.
“I went to that area and had a five-bass limit within 30 minutes each day,” said Matual. “I was dropping-shotting a Jackall Crosstail Shad in a variety of colors. If that missed, I used a green-pumpkin-colored Chompers Tube. The bass were so aggressive I could see them breaking the top of the water going after baitfish. I figured they would bite any lure I threw down there.”
Matual said he caught approximately 55 keepers, in around 15 to 18 of water, over the course of the tournament.
“I was all alone in my area,” said Matual. “No one else was fishing around me. It was the perfect storm.”
The top 10 pros on Lake Erie were:
1st: David Matual, Chicago, Ill., 15 bass, 65-0, $31,229
2nd: Jared Rhode, Port Clinton, Ohio, 15 bass, 64-9, $12,101
3rd: Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 15 bass, 64-8, $9,369
4th: Trevor Jancasz, White Pigeon, Mich., 15 bass, 62-1, $7,807
5th: Matt Vermilyea, Perrysburg, Ohio, 15 bass, 61-2, $7,027
6th: Matt Elkins, Spencerville, Ohio, 15 bass, 60-5, $6,246
7th: Joe Balog, Harrison Township, Mich., 15 bass, 58-5, $5,465
8th: Jeff Vizachero, Grosse Ile, Mich., 15 bass, 53-6, $4,684
9th: Michael Sitko, Pinckney, Mich., 14 bass, 48-4, $3,904
10th: Mike Oberski, Ann Arbor, 12 bass, 42-9, $3,123
Mike Moran of Ruffs Dale, Pennsylvania, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday, weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $198.
Justin Hicks of Roanoke, Virginia, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117C with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 59 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Erie were:
1st: Justin Hicks, Roanoke, Virginia, 15 Bass, 59-11, Ranger Z117C w/ 90-horsepower outboard
2nd: Rick Harkness, Saint Marys, W. Va., 15 bass, 57-15, $3,949
3rd: Wayne Nelson, Caistor Centre, Ontario, 15 bass, 54-3, $3,160
4th: Arnold Payne Jr., Kokomo, Ind., 15 bass, 53-12, $2,765
5th: Dennis Blakely, Norwalk, Ohio, 15 bass, 52-13, $2,370
6th: Keith Sensenig, Jane Lew, W. Va., 15 bass, 48-1, $1,975
7th: Brian Ruetz, Toledo, Ohio, 13 bass, 45-10, $1,580
8th: Brian Kich, Berea, Ohio, 13 bass, 45-2, $1,382
9th: Vickie Maisch-Rumer, Lima, Ohio, 12 bass, 41-3, $1,185
10th: Bryan Sisk, Glenelg, Md., 12 bass, 40-6, $987
The Rayovac FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the no-entry-fee Rayovac FLW Series Championship. The 2015 Rayovac FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 29-31 on the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky.
The Rayovac FLW Series on Lake Erie was presented by Evinrude and was the third and final Northern Division tournament of 2015. The next Rayovac FLW Series tournament will be a Western Division event, held Sept. 24-26, on Clear Lake in Lakeport, Calif. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.
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
