Heath Wagner of Ortonville, Mich., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division event on the Detroit River. For his victory, Wagner earned $3,794.
“I was blessed,” said Wagner, who earned the third BFL win of his career, all on the Detroit River. “I decided to make the long 40-mile run over to fish Lake Erie. That lake has always been my first love.”
Wagner said that he fished one isolated stretch of gravel, about 50 feet long and 50 feet wide. He said that all of his fish came on a Smoke Purple Flash-colored Poor Boy’s tube with a 3/8-ounce head in 29 feet of water.
“I had 22 pounds in my livewell within the first 18 minutes of fishing,” Wagner continued. “I had found this gravel spot about six years ago using my side imaging. It’s a little early in the season for them to be out there. I’m not sure why they were there, but I’m really glad that I stopped to check it.”
Wagner estimated that he caught about 35 smallmouth bass throughout the day, and credited his experience on the water and his Humminbird electronics as being the keys to his victory.
“I only live about an hour and a half away from Erie,” Wagner said. “It can be really difficult to pinpoint where the fish are, because there is so much stuff that looks good. I’ve got over 1,000 Erie waypoints in my GPS. But when you find them, look out. I was lucky that I had this area all to myself ? there wasn’t another boat within two miles of me.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
| 2nd: | John Zubkoff | Monroe, Mich. | five bass | 19-12 | $1,897 |
| 3rd: | Michael Sitko | Farmington Hills, Mich. | five bass | 19-2 | $1,265 + $300 Evinrude Bonus |
| 4th: | Scott Dobson | Oak Park, Mich. | five bass | 19-0 | $885 + $300 Evinrude Bonus |
| 5th: | John Leader | Granger, Ind. | five bass | 18-9 | $759 |
| 6th: | Nick Neves | Brooklyn, Mich. | five bass | 18-3 | $696 |
| 7th: | Mark Modrak | China Township, Mich. | five bass | 17-14 | $600 |
| 7th: | Frederick Tillman | Muskegon, Mich. | five bass | 17-14 | $600 |
| 9th: | Gary Greenwood | Irwin, Pa. | five bass | 17-12 | $506 |
| 10th: | Frank Novock | Rockwood, Mich. | five bass | 17-9 | $443 |
Zac Zernec of Ortonville, Mich., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win $1,897 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
| 2nd: | Brian Ruetz | Toledo, Ohio | five bass | 19-1 | $949 |
| 3rd: | Chuck Hasty | Toledo, Ohio | five bass | 18-12 | $633 |
| 4th: | Dave Hasty | Toledo, Ohio | five bass | 18-0 | $443 |
| 5th: | Eric Schoolmaster | Portage, Mich. | five bass | 17-12 | $363 |
| 5th: | Jon Witt | Kalamazoo, Mich. | five bass | 17-12 | $363 |
| 7th: | Eddie Frye | Gallipolis, Ohio | five bass | 17-9 | $300 |
| 7th: | Aaron Hasse | Dewitt, Mich. | five bass | 17-9 | , $300 |
| 9th: | Mark Brooks | Dayton, Ohio | five bass | 17-4 | $253 |
| 10th: | Jason Kopczyk | Commerce Township, Mich. | five bass | 17-0 | $221 |
The next BFL Michigan Division tournament is scheduled for Aug. 3 on Lake St. Clair in Mount Clemons, Mich. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 Regional Championship at Chesapeake Bay in North East, Md. 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
