Witt wins co-angler title
Matt Elkins of Spencerville, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division tournament on the Detroit River. For his victory, Elkins earned $5,337.
“I targeted fish in 30- to 33-foot depths,” said Elkins of his first win in FLW competition. “Lake Erie has a lot of algae right now so I knew that’s where I wanted to be.
“I stopped at an area near Pelee Island in the morning and caught several fish,” continued Elkins. “I was fishing a drop-shot rig with a Sandbar Party-colored LBA Baits Ding Ding worm. I caught the biggest bass of the tournament – a 5-pound, 4-ouncer – at 8:30 a.m.
“By 10:30 a.m. I had nearly 21 pounds,” said Elkins. “I ran to a couple of other areas but ended up returning to my primary spot at the end of the day.”
Elkins said he ended up catching 12 keepers over the course of the tournament.
“I was able to bring in a 4½-pounder with only minutes to spare, so that really helped cap off the day,” said Elkins.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Matt Elkins, Spencerville, Ohio, five bass, 22-6, $3,337 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Charles Mackintosh, Brighton, Mich., five bass, 21-11, $1,668
3rd: Tony Yancey, Harrison Township, Mich., five bass, 21-5, $1,112
4th: Rob Kasjanski, Flat Rock, Mich., five bass, 21-1, $779
5th: Jared Rhode, Port Clinton, Ohio, five bass, 20-12, $667
6th: Todd Schmitz, Goshen, Ind., five bass, 19-15, $612
7th: Frank Novock, Rockwood, Mich., five bass, 19-13, $556
8th: Joshua Barr, Stow, Ohio, five bass, 19-9, $473
8th: Wayne Macklin, Fenton, Mich., five bass, 19-9, $473
10th: Mark Flick, Delton, Mich., five bass, 19-3, $389
Elkins also 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 $410.
Jon Witt of Kalamazoo, Michigan, weighed in five bass totaling 20 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win $1,668 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jon Witt, Kalamazoo, Mich., five bass, 20-11, $1,668
2nd: Kevin Fetzer, Waterford, Mich., five bass, 18-10, $834
3rd: Paul Porento, Highland, Ind., five bass, 16-15, $427
3rd: Jay Shaffer, Bath, Mich., five bass, 16-15, $427
3rd: Jeffrey Thomson, Birmingham, Mich., five bass, 16-15, $427
6th: Erik Jacques, Harrison Township, Mich., five bass, 16-13, $306
7th: Brett Gilbert, Adrian, Mich., five bass, 16-7, $278
8th: Steven Hatala, Saint Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 16-1, $250
9th: Sam Caron, Pleasant Lake, Mich., five bass, 15-12, $222
10th: Damon Whorton, Holland, Ohio, five bass, 15-6, $195
Mark Miller of Baltic, Ohio, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $205.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. 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
