Ohio RIver Bass FIshing League 30 July 16

[Mike Cork]

FARMERSBURG'S WILKINSON WINS FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE HOOSIER DIVISION EVENT ON OHIO RIVER
Jenkins wins co-angler title
CANNELTON, Ind. (Aug. 1, 2016) – Chris Wilkinson of Farmersburg, Indiana, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the fourth FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Hoosier Division tournament of 2016 on the Ohio River. For his win, Wilkinson took home $4,309.
"I caught my limit on the main river and in creeks," said Wilkinson, who earned his second win of 2016 in BFL competition. "No matter where I went, I focused on wood that had current breaks. In the creeks, the calm water behind bigger laydowns held the better fish.
"I caught several keepers on a Pearl Chartreuse-colored Jackall Super Eruption Spinnerbait using a G. Loomis 813C Spinnerbait Series Rod," Wilkinson continued. "My heaviest bass, the largest of the event, came from a piece of wood on the main river. On that cast, I threw a Jackall Cover Craw with a G. Loomis NRX 853 Casting Rod."
Wilkinson said he pulled in around 13 keepers throughout the event.
"They all were caught fairly shallow – maybe about 1 to 3 feet down," said Wilkinson. "I either flipped and popped the craw, or ran the spinnerbait as slow as I could."
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
               1st:          Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 12-9, $4,309
               2nd:         Tommy Williams, Shepherdsville, Ky., four bass, 10-5, $1,902
               3rd:          Sean Gillenwater, Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 6-2, $1,267
               4th:          Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., four bass, 5-14, $888
               5th:          Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, three bass, 5-13, $961
               6th:          Eric Moore, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 5-6, $797
               7th:          Matt McCoy, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 5-5, $634
               8th:          Damon Tingle, Mooresville, Ind., four bass, 5-4, $571
               9th:          George Brown, Camby, Ind., three bass, 5-3, $507
               10th:        John Melton, Corydon, Ind., three bass, 5-1, $444
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Wilkinson's biggest bass – which weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces – earned him the day's Boater Big Bass award of $505.
Joshua Jenkins of Indianapolis, Indiana, weighed in two bass totaling 6 pounds even, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,144.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
               1st:          Joshua Jenkins, Indianapolis, Ind., two bass, 6-0, $2,144
               2nd:         Scott Standafer, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 5-8, $949
               3rd:          Steve Keller Jr., Bethel, Ohio, two bass, 4-1, $633
               4th:          Jeremy New, Yorktown, Ind., two bass, 3-13, $543
               5th:          Darron Read, Elizabethtown, Ind., one bass, 3-10, $429
               6th:          Charles Hardin, Evansville, Ind., two bass, 3-8, $348
               7th:          Brant Gish, Evansville, Ind., one bass, 3-3, $300
               7th:          Tom Legear, Richmond, Ind., two bass, 3-3, $300
               9th:          Austin LeClere, Cannelton, Ind., two bass, 3-2, $253
               10th:        Gary Owens, Columbus, Ind., three bass, 3-0, $210
               10th:        Ron Weisenburger, Continental, Ohio, two bass, 3-0, $210
Jenkins also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $247.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Sept. 29 - Oct. 1 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. 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.