Grand Lake Bass Fishing League 23 April 16

[Mike Cork]

MAPLEWOOD'S GINTER WINS FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE BUCKEYE DIVISION OPENER ON GRAND LAKE
Knapmeyer wins co-angler title
CELINA, Ohio (April 25, 2016) – Gary Ginter of Maplewood, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the first FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament of 2016 on Grand Lake. For his victory, Ginter took home $5,905.
"I started out my day on the south side of the lake fishing canals that I had marked in practice," said Ginter, who earned his third win in FLW competition. "I had to adjust my pattern a bit due to boat traffic and ended up at my backup spot targeting wood and caught a few fish fairly quick."
Ginter said he flipped the wood using a custom black soft-plastic creature bait.
"I moved it slow with short hops," said Ginter. "It resembles a Zoom Brush Hog and it got me through the seven areas I hit throughout my day."
At 12:30 p.m., Ginter said he had four fish in the boat and decided to finish the event running his bait along rocks.
"After the sun came out, I filled my limit and culled when I could," said Ginter. "I ended up with nine keepers. Basically I paid attention to what others were doing and did the opposite."
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
               1st:          Gary Ginter, Maplewood, Ohio, five bass, 13-1, $5,905
               2nd:         Todd Hahn, Heath, Ohio, five bass, 12-0, $2,453
               3rd:          Scott Tangeman, Chickasaw, Ohio, five bass, 11-4, $2,375
               4th:          Kenneth Pincombe, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 10-15, $1,063
               4th:          Dan Moran, London, Ohio, five bass, 10-15, $1,063
               6th:          Brad Baldwin, Waynesville, Ohio, five bass, 10-14, $899
               7th:          Miles Johnson, Kettering, Ohio, five bass, 10-4, $1,118
               8th:          Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 10-3, $695
               8th:          Ray Philhower, Milford, Ohio, four bass, 10-3, $695
               10th:        Bob Abrams, Williamsburg, Ohio, four bass, 10-0, $572
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 
Tangeman caught a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day's Boater Big Bass award of $740.
Brandon Knapmeyer of Union, Kentucky, weighed in four bass totaling 8 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,436.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
               1st:          Brandon Knapmeyer, Union, Ky., four bass, 8-2, $2,436
               2nd:         John Long, New Bremen, Ohio, four bass, 8-1, $1,016
               2nd:         Dennis Sepeck, Bethel, Ohio, three bass, 8-1, $1,016
               4th:          Brett Warrick, Westerville, Ohio, five bass, 7-9, $568
               5th:          Mark Henderson, Martinsville, Ohio, four bass, 7-3, $487
               6th:          Jacob Bierman, Cincinnati, Ohio, four bass, 6-15, $447
               7th:          Owen Warner, Fairborn, Ohio, three bass, 6-9, $406
               8th:          Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, three bass, 5-12, $345
               8th:          Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 5-12, $345
               10th:        William Miller, Perry, Ohio, one bass, 5-11, $651
Miller caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces and earned the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $367.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. 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.