Wilkinson Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division Event on Lake Monroe
OutdoorHub 05.12.14
Chris Wilkinson of Farmersburg, Ind., weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 15 ounces on Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division tournament of 2014 on Lake Monroe. For his victory, Wilkinson earned $3,756.
“This win was special,” Wilkinson said of his third career BFL victory. “I pride myself on being consistent. Now, I can say I’ve won at the Ohio River, Lake Monroe and Lake Patoka – the three main places in Indiana the BFL series goes to.
“I started up the river and it was raining,” said Wilkinson. “I was throwing a Hawgback Lures buzzbait and I caught my two best fish pretty quickly while it was raining.”
Wilkinson said that the rain stopped after a few hours, along with the fish. It wasn’t until the sun came out in the last hour that he finished his limit with three solid fish caught on a Hawgback Lures tube.
“I was fishing shallow sloughs,” explained Wilkinson. “I targeted the bushes in the backs of them. The better fish seemed to be coming off the bushes that were on little points.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Aaron Singleton, Lagrange, Ky., five bass, 13-8, $1,878
3rd: Dan South, Corydon, Ind., four bass, 10-13, $1,253
4th: Sean Gillenwater, Bloomington, Ind., four bass, 10-10, $876
5th: Donald Troy, Rockville, Ind., three bass, 9-11, $751
6th: Nick Teeters, Martinsville, Ind., four bass, 9-10, $689
7th: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, three bass, 8-12, $626
8th: Charlie Smith, Union, Ky., two bass, 8-6, $563 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
9th: Shane Egan, Bloomington, Ind., four bass, 8-5, $501
10th: Ryan Chandler, Valparaiso, Ind., three bass, 8-4, $398
10th: Travis Feuerbach, Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 8-4, $398
10th: Mike Seal, Richmond, Ind., three bass, 8-4, $398
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Brian Burgess of Palm City, Fla., weighed three bass totaling 7 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win $1,835 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Charles Hardin, Evansville, Ind., three bass, 6-14, $918
3rd: Mike Marshall, Paoli, Ind., two bass, 5-8, $612
4th: Lance Hounshell, Lexington, Ind., one bass, 5-3, $428
5th: Coty Seals, Vincennes, Ind., one bass, 4-14, $367
6th: Travis Andres, Georgetown, Ind., one bass, 4-7, $321
6th: Gerald Shaw, Pendleton, Ind., one bass, 4-7, $321
8th: Christopher Hester, Mooresville, Ind., two bass, 4-0, $275
9th: Justin Clift, Indianapolis, Ind., one bass, 3-8, $229
9th: Marshall Lachecki, Indianapolis, Ind., one bass, 3-8, $229
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, 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 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 Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
