Kentucky’s McCord Wins FLW Bass Fishing League Illini Division Event on Rend Lake

Hill wins co-angler title

Neil McCord of West Frankfort, Kentucky, brought a five bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 10 ounces, to the scale Saturday to win the fourth FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Illini Division tournament of 2016 on Rend Lake presented by Navionics. McCord earned $5,917 for his win.

“I caught my fish on the upper end of the lake using a chartreuse-colored Lucky Craft BDS Crankbait,” said McCord, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “I probably hit three or four areas, and just kept going through them until I caught fish.”

McCord said he primarily focused on rocks and ridges, but also targeted laydowns.

“It was slow in the morning, I didn’t catch my first keeper until noon,” said McCord. “I made multiple casts to the same areas and ended up with seven keepers by the end of the day.”

McCord said his two heaviest fish came late in the day, just in time for weigh-in.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Neil McCord, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 17-10, $3,917 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2nd:         Matt Jackson, Moweaqua, Ill., five bass, 15-8, $2,158  

3rd:          Larry Sisk, Evansville, Ind., five bass, 14-7, $1,307

4th:          Brad Porter, Bluford, Ill., five bass, 14-1, $914

5th:          Jeremy Mull, Chatham, Ill., five bass, 13-10, $883

6th:          Larry Page, Mount Vernon, Ill., four bass, 13-1, $718

7th:          Brian Gass, O’ Fallon, Ill., five bass, 12-6, $620

7th:          Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 12-6, $920

9th:          Dan Shoraga, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 12-2, $522

10th:        Jerry Walker, Zeigler, Ill., five bass, 11-4, $457

Patrick Odell of Windsor, Illinois, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $520.

Chad Hill of Marion, Illinois, weighed in four bass totaling 10 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,921.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Chad Hill, Marion, Ill., four bass, 10-3, $1,921

2nd:         Anthony Macon, Greenville, Ill., three bass, 6-7, $960

3rd:          Kirk Jansen, Teutopolis, Ill., three bass, 6-5, $641

4th:          Brian Lingle, Anna, Ill., three bass, 5-15, $448

5th:          Tim Renth, Hoyleton, Ill., two bass, 5-8, $384

6th:          Jordan Borgmann, Ashley, Ill., two bass, 5-5, $352

7th:          Eugene Kim, Lindenhurst, Ill., three bass, 5-3, $520

8th:          Aaron Arning, Walnut Hill, Ill., two bass, 5-2, $288

9th:          Jim Budde, Waterloo, Ill., three bass, 5-1, $306

10th:        Kenny Hemmen, St. Louis, Mo., one bass, 4-7, $479

Hemmen caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $255.

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

 

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