Hann wins co-angler title
Ed Casey of Whiteford, Maryland, weighed a five bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the fourth FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Northeast Division tournament of 2016 on Oneida Lake presented by Power-Pole. For his efforts, Casey took home $6,009.
Casey said he spent his day fishing mid-lake shoals that had a lot of mussels and scattered grass on them.
“The shoals were good in practice so I went back there figuring they’d still be holding fish,” said Casey, who earned his second win in BFL competition. “I threw a drop-shot rig with a Baby Bass-colored Jackall Crosstail Shad and Dark Melon Goby-colored Strike King Coffee Tubes, and had a limit in the boat by 9 a.m.”
Casey said that using baits with purple-fleck coloring was a crucial part of his success.
“I stayed out deep in 7 to 8 of water and worked my way toward shallow-water markers I call ‘cans’,” said Casey. “There was a lot of goby activity. If they were eating, I knew there were a lot of smallmouth bass in the area. I actually ended up weighing in four smallmouth.”
With 25 minutes left to fish, Casey said he caught a 4-pound largemouth bass to seal the deal.
“I threw a swimjig to a grass bed and within two casts I had a 4-pounder,” said Casey. “I was fortunate to catch some nice fish.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Ed Casey, Whiteford, Md., five bass, 18-4, $4,009 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., five bass, 17-13, $2,205
3rd: Kraig Kettelkamp, Clifton Springs, N.Y., five bass, 17-11, $1,336
4th: Robert Parmer, Linden, Pa., five bass, 17-1, $935
5th: Jamie Hartman, Bridgeport, N.Y., five bass, 17-0, $868
5th: George Hutchinson, Mullica Hill, N.J., five bass, 17-0, $768
7th: Ian Renfrew, Phoenix, N.Y., five bass, 16-7, $668
8th: Mark Schafer, Williamstown, N.J., five bass, 16-4, $601
9th: Joseph Amberg Jr., Hawley, Pa., five bass, 16-0, $535
10th: Roy Goodwin, Macedon, N.Y., five bass, 15-10, $468
John Lorenzo of Kane, Pennsylvania, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $550.
Daniel Hann of Williamson, New York, weighed in five bass totaling 16 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,005.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Daniel Hann, Williamson, N.Y., five bass, 16-11, $2,005
2nd: John Henning, Lansdale, Pa., five bass, 14-0, $1,002
3rd: Steve Cram, Williamstown, N.J., five bass, 13-6, $668
4th: Griffen Hurt, Bound Brook, N.J., five bass, 13-5, $468
5th: Joshua Hertzog, Lititz, Pa., five bass, 12-12, $401
6th: Bill Klaips, Shavertown, Pa., five bass, 12-10, $368
7th: Robert Hockley, Annville, Pa., four bass, 12-0, $317
7th: Travis Craig, Fairview, Pa., five bass, 12-0, $317
9th: Dylan Hartman, Lebanon, N.J., five bass, 11-12, $267
10th: Rebecca Diluzio, North East, Pa., four bass, 11-4, $234
Taurean Relyea of Fairport, New York, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 3 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $275.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. 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
