Templeton wins co-angler title
Ray Arning Jr. of Walnut Hill, Illinois, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Illini Division tournament on Rend Lake presented by Navionics. For his victory, Arning earned $5,804.
“It was one of those hot, tough days of fishing,” said Arning, who earned the fifth BFL win of his career. “I don’t think the wind blew once in eight hours.”
Arning said he targeted one location for the entire day – a 60-yard area on the north end of the lake.
“The bass were feeding on big shad in the open water,” said Arning. “Occasionally they would come to a creek ditch where I would catch them. I would leave them alone for a half hour, return and try again.
“I used a Junebug-colored Zoom Fork Tail worm,” continued Arning. “It’s not a bait you hear about often but I’ve consistently won money with them.”
Arning said he caught four keepers before 11 a.m., with his final two fish biting after noon.
“It was one of those days that tested patience,” said Arning. “It was nice to see it pay off.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Ray Arning Jr., Walnut Hill, Ill., five bass, 13-5, $3,804 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Keith Nemcek, Saint Charles, Ill., four bass, 13-0, $1,902
3rd: Neil McCord, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 12-6, $1,267
4th: Leroy McDuffie, McLeansboro, Ill., five bass, 11-7, $888
5th: Dennis Berhorst, Holts Summit, Mo., three bass, 10-7, $761
6th: Robert Atchison, Whittington, Ill., four bass, 8-6, $697
7th: Mike Barnes, Mackinaw, Ill., three bass, 8-2, $634
8th: Jerry Walker, Zeigler, Ill., three bass, 7-15, $571
9th: Delmar Burlison, Goreville, Ill., three bass, 7-3, $507
10th: Nick Shafer, Benton, Ill., three bass, 6-13, $444
Berhorst caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $505.
Greg Templeton of Pinckneyville, Illinois, weighed in five bass totaling 10 pounds even Saturday to win $1,902 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Greg Templeton, Pinckneyville, Ill., five bass, 10-0, $1,902
2nd: Mario Rossi, Granite City, Ill., three bass, 7-5, $951
3rd: Levi Shaw, Opdyke, Ill., three bass, 6-13, $634
4th: Lance Dasenbrock, Effingham, Ill., three bass, 6-0, $444
5th: Dave Dobill, Royalton, Ill., two bass, 5-14, $380
6th: Ovidiu Marginean, Des Plaines, Ill., two bass, 5-10, $349
7th: Brad Kleiboeker, Carlyle, Ill., one bass, 5-1, $317
8th: Mike Jackson, Moweaqua, Ill., two bass, 4-15, $285
9th: Steve Kehrer, Woodlawn, Ill., two bass, 4-13, $254
10th: Mike Swetland, Tamaroa, Ill., one bass, 4-10, $222
Kleiboeker caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $252.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. 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
