McClain Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division on the Ohio River
OutdoorHub 08.20.12
Frank McClain of Scottsburg, Ind., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 8 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division event on the Ohio River at Rocky Point. For his victory, McClain earned $5,021.
“This was a really tough tournament,” said McClain. “Luckily, I’d had a pretty good practice coming in. I made a 20 mile run up-river, and really worked 6 spots that I had found during practice that I knew were holding fish.”
McClain credits a white Hogback spinnerbait and a black Hogback buzzbait with producing most of his bites on the tough river.
“All of my fish came off of laydowns in the creeks in 2- to 4-feet of water,” McClain said. “It had to be in the wind too. If it was calm, they wouldn’t bite. They were a lot more aggressive during practice. I shook off 20 keeper bites in practice, but on tournament day I only had 8 bites. I would have to make 15 to 20 casts before they would bite it. It was really a reaction bite pattern out there. The key for me was that practice time though. I knew exactly where the fish were.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Allen Boyd, Salem, Ind.,five bass, 8-1, $1,511
3rd: Larry Sisk, Evansville, Ind., five bass, 7-9, $1,007
4th: Raymond Clift, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 7-7, $705
5th: Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 7-1, $604
6th: Bill Brunner, Cleves, Ohio, five bass, 6-13, $554
7th: Tim Maupin, Lawrenceburg, Ind., five bass, 5-15, $504
8th: Brad Moser, New Albany, Ind., four bass, 5-9, $453
9th: Ryan Deal, Haubstadt, Ind., four bass, 5-7, $403
10th: Mike Quinlan, Mooresville, Ind., three bass, 4-15, $352
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Gary Kincaid of Martinsville, Ind., weighed in four bass totaling 7 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win $1,511 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Brandon Houston, Burlington, Ky., five bass, 5-5, $755
3rd: Michael Leistner, Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 4-14, $504
4th: Robert Spurgeon, Jasonville, Ind., two bass, 3-6, $352
5th: Justin Clift, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 3-1, $302
6th: Jim Krider, North Vernon, Ind., two bass, 2-7, $277
7th: Nick Cummins, Greendale, Ind., one bass, 2-6, $252
8th: Rod Yoder, West Lafayette, Ind., two bass, 2-5, $227
9th: Mark Dehart, Brownstown, Ind., two bass, 2-2, $188
9th: Jason Thornton, Corydon, Ind.., two bass, 2-2, $188
The next BFL Hoosier Division tournament is scheduled for Sept. 8-9 on the Ohio River at Tanners Creek in Lawrenceburg, Ind. After that tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 4-6 Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Morristown, Tenn. 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.
