Ashley wins co-angler title
Ian Renfrew of Phoenix, New York, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division tournament on Oneida Lake presented by Navionics. For his victory, Renfrew earned $4,695.
“I consider myself a fairly conservative fisherman,” said Renfrew, who earned his first win after three previous top-10 finishes in BFL competition. “But on Saturday I went for the win and it ended up going well.”
Renfrew said he caught most of his fish by targeting isolated grass patches in 8- to 10-feet of water.
“I probably hit around nine different patches of grass,” said Renfrew. “With those patches, it’s all about timing – like tidal water fishing. I would return to a certain patch if I didn’t find bass early and they would be there. A lot of anglers wouldn’t return at all.”
Renfrew said he used a 4-inch green-pumpkin-colored Jackall Cover Craw to catch the majority of his fish, while his kicker came on a black frog.
“I had a limit by 7:30 a.m. – including two smallmouths,” said Renfrew. “They were roaming around in grass that had coontail in it and broken-up rock on the bottom.”
Renfrew said it was his G. Loomis GLX rod that helped him edge the competition.
“I was able to really lean on it and pull the fish out of those patches,” said Renfrew. “They didn’t stand a chance.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Ian Renfrew, Phoenix, N.Y., five bass, 16-11, $4,695
2nd: Bob Brody, Avoca, Pa., five bass, 16-8, $2,348
3rd: Travis Manson, Conshohocken, Pa., five bass, 16-7, $1,565
4th: Harold Miller Jr., Washington, Pa., five bass, 16-5, $1,096
5th: Ernie Freeman, Broad Run, Va., five bass, 16-4, $900
5th: Evan Luta, Bradford, N.Y., five bass, 16-4, $900
7th: Stanley Sypeck Jr., Sugarloaf, Pa., five bass, 16-2, $783
8th: John Lorenzo, Kane, Pa., five bass, 16-1, $704
9th: Michael Duell, Bridgeport, N.Y., five bass, 15-15, $626
10th: Matt Martin, Chittenango, N.Y., five bass, 15-13, $548
Jerry Knier of Muncy, Pennsylvania, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $700.
Eric Ashley of Little Falls, New York, weighed in five bass totaling 17 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win $2,348 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Eric Ashley, Little Falls, N.Y., five bass, 17-6, $2,348
2nd: Charles Melnick, Holland Patent, N.Y., five bass, 16-4, $1,174
3rd: Fred Lentz, Pittsgrove, N.J., five bass, 15-14, $781
4th: Kevin Mothersell, Henrietta, N.Y., five bass, 15-12, $548
5th: Neil Thomas, Scarborough, Maine., five bass, 15-10, $470
6th: Jeff Warren, Lansdale, Pa., five bass, 15-9, $430
7th: Evan Cobb, Frankfort, N.Y., five bass, 15-8, $391
8th: Robert Hockley, Annville, Pa., five bass, 15-4, $352
9th: Michael Barton, Endicott, N.Y., five bass, 15-2, $293
9th: James Wood, Bloomsburg, Pa., five bass, 15-2, $293
Mothersell caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $175.
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
