McClain Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division Event on the Ohio River
OutdoorHub 06.30.14
Frank McClain of Scottsburg, Ind., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division tournament of 2014 on the Ohio River at Tanner’s Creek. For his victory, McClain earned $6,235.
“The bad thing was that I didn’t get to practice,” McClain sad. “I hadn’t been on the Ohio River since fall, so I was just winging it.”
McClain said that he made a 25-mile run toward the dam where he expected to see fewer competitors and more stable water.
“I started fishing some flats in some creeks and by 9:20 in the morning I had my limit,” McClain said. “I ended up culling five times.
“There was a lot of bait around submerged stumps,” explained McClain. “I knew the area pretty well and I would throw to the dark spots that were stumps. The bass and the shad fry were using the stumps as cover. As soon as I caught my first fish I knew what to target.”
McClain said that he used an 1/8-ounce Hawgback Lures buzzbait in a custom color to catch his winning limit.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, five bass, 9-11, $2,118
3rd: Michael Manor, Sidney, Ohio, five bass, 9-6, $1,413
4th: Charlie Smith, Union, Ky., five bass, 8-11, $988 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
5th: Brian Mahon, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 8-5, $847
6th: Robert Eldridge, Williamstown, Ky., five bass, 8-3, $741
6th: Todd Hensley, New Albany, Ind., five bass, 8-3, $741
8th: Tim Burke, Petersburg, Ky., five bass, 7-11, $635
9th: Ken Garbe, Loveland, Ohio, five bass, 7-10, $565
10th: Ronald Nutter, Newark, Ohio, five bass, 7-9, $494
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Trevor Howard of Florence, Ky., weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 9 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $2,118 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: George Ginter, Sidney, Ohio, five bass, 7-1, $1,059
3rd: Matt Wheeler, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 6-5, $706
4th: Gary Hoffman, Stoutsville, Ohio, five bass, 6-4, $494
5th: Dennis Sepeck, Bethel, Ohio, five bass, 5-12, $424
6th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, five bass, 5-2, $388
7th: Dave Roberts, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 4-12, $353
8th: J.R. Selke, Waynesville, Ohio, three bass, 4-11, $300
8th: Jason Skipworth, Rising Sun, Ind., four bass, 4-11, $300
10th: Duane Fry, Bellefontaine, Ohio, one bass, 4-9, $247
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 16-18 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. 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.
