Kaoru O’Bryan of Crestwood, Ky., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division event on the Ohio River at Rocky Point. For his victory, O’Bryan earned $5,804.
“I was fishing way up near the head of Par Creek off of the main river,” said O’Bryan.”I had fished this spot for years in the past, but not over the last couple. I happened to stop there in the morning to check it out, and I’m glad that I did.”
O’Bryan said that he won by nearly two pounds fishing an Action Baits black double-bladed buzzbait and a shad-colored Don Iovino Splash-It topwater bait.
“I caught three on the Splash-It and five on the buzzbait,” O’Bryan said.”The big ones came on the topwater. Those fish were suspending over the creek stumps. The fish that I caught on the buzzbait came off of laydowns.
“I could have weighed in 15 pounds, but I missed a few,” O’Bryan went on to say.”The key for me was really just sticking with my baits. I knew that the bigger fish were suspended and sluggish. I had confidence in my topwater, though, and I just worked it very slowly.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
| 2nd: | Scott Bateman | Washington, Ind. | five bass | 10-6 | $1,902 |
| 3rd: | Mark Dove | North Vernon, Ind. | five bass | 10-5 | $1,267 |
| 4th: | Jason Hubbard | Lewisport, Ky. | five bass | 9-14 | $888 |
| 5th: | Chris Wilkinson | Farmersburg, Ind. | five bass | 9-0 | $761 |
| 6th: | Frank McClain | Scottsburg, Ind. | five bass | 8-13 | $697 |
| 7th: | Todd Hensley | New Albany, Ind. | five bass | 8-10 | $634 |
| 8th: | Ryan Deal | Haubstadt, Ind. | five bass | 8-9 | $571 |
| 9th: | Dan Pardue | Morgantown, Ind. | five bass | 8-3 | $507 |
| 10th: | Kyle Weisenburger | Ottawa, Ohio | five bass | 8-2 | $444 |
Allan Stephens of Florence, Ky., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 7 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $1,840 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
| 2nd: | Ethan Hill | Columbus, Ind. | four bass | 7-1 | $920 |
| 3rd: | Matthew Hardin-Campbell | North Vernon, Ind. | five bass | 6-14 | $612 |
| 4th: | Darren New | New Castle, Ind. | five bass | 6-8 | $429 |
| 5th: | Dustin Burk | Brookville, Ind. | five bass | 6-7 | $368 |
| 6th: | Derek Marvel | Mount Vernon, Ind. | three bass | 6-5 | $322 |
| 6th: | George Seymour | Speedway, Ind. | five bass | 6-5 | $322 |
| 8th: | Roger Crain | Louisville, Ky. | four bass | 6-2 | $276 |
| 9th: | Rodney Roe | Morehead, Ky. | five bass | 6-0 | $245 |
| 10th: | Jay Backer | Henderson, Ky. | five bass | 5-14 | $215 |
The final BFL Hoosier Division tournament is scheduled for Sept. 14-15 on the Ohio River at Tanners Creek in Lawrenceburg, Ind. After that last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 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 40 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 presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart 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 2013 over the course of 220 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. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the”Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit the FLWOutdoors website and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.By: Joe Opager, Communications Specialist
