Kyle Weisenburger of Ottawa, Ohio, weighed four bass totaling 6 pounds, 5 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division Super Tournament on Indian Lake with a two-day total of eight bass weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces. For his victory, Weisenburger earned $3,971.
“I started off the tournament by targeting channels and pockets, especially ones where there were baitfish crammed into the backs,” said Weisenburger of his third win in FLW competition. “I used a black spinnerbait and also flipped the grass with a green-pumpkin-colored Bass Shack Baits Boss Hog.”
Weisenburger said he was able to catch one fish before a storm moved through the area and then three more after it passed.
“On Sunday I focused on the pocket where I had caught my final three fish the day before,” said Weisenburger. “The wind had repositioned the grass so I needed to adjust my approach a bit. I found out how the baitfish were relating to the grass and brought in my first fish at 9 a.m. – a 3-pound kicker.”
After boating a couple of more keepers, Weisenburger said he casted a buzzbait to a grass edge and caught his final keeper around 2 p.m. before heading in to the scale.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, eight bass, 12-11, $3,971
2nd: Jeremie Barker, Middletown, Ohio, five bass, 10-2, $1,985
3rd: Bob Logan, Waynesfield, Ohio, four bass, 8-7, $1,324
4th: Jeremy Tenwalde , Fort Jennings, Ohio, seven bass, 8-7, $927
5th: Dick Shaffer, Rockford, Ohio, five bass, 7-8, $794
6th: Ronald Nutter, Newark, Ohio, three bass, 6-9, $728
7th: David Scales, Marysville, Ohio, three bass, 6-5, $662
8th: Jay Ellis, Celina, Ohio, three bass, 5-8, $596
9th: Charlie Smith, Union, Ky., three bass, 5-3, $529
10th: Levi Northup, Tipp City, Ohio, two bass, 4-8, $463
Northup caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 3 pounds, 4 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $427.
Logan Willoughby of New Philadelphia, Ohio, won the co-angler division and $1,986 with a two-day total of four bass weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Logan Willoughby, New Philadelphia, Ohio, four bass, 7-3, $1,986
2nd: Bill Turvey, Oak Hill, Ohio, two bass, 3-15, $993
3rd: Daniel Shuga, Botkins, Ohio, two bass, 3-10, $660
4th: Kirk Mannon, Scottown, Ohio, two bass, 2-13, $463
5th: William Fieler, Cincinnati, Ohio, one bass, 2-9, $397
6th: Doyle Donnett, Minster, Ohio, two bass, 2-5, $364
7th: Gary Hoffman, Stoutsville, Ohio, one bass, 2-3, $331
8th: Rob Plummer, Waynesville, Ohio, one bass, 1-12, $298
9th: Dustin Bowers, Englewood, Ohio, one bass, 1-9, $265
10th: Brian Zelinskas, Beavercreek, Ohio, one bass, 1-5, $232
Willoughby also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $214.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now 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
