McKnight kicks his way to co-angler title
Five-pound largemouth vaults Wal-Mart BFL veteran to first Stren Series victory
FORT MADISON, Iowa – Competing in his first Stren Series season, co-angler Kirk McKnight of Milan, Ill., won the Midwest Division event on the Mississippi River. McKnight started the day in fifth place but vaulted to the top of the leaderboard via a 13-pound, 3-ounce catch.
Much like David Junk, the Pro Division winner, McKnight’s four-fish stringer was anchored by a 5-pound bucketmouth. Fishing with fourth-place pro Chad Morgenthaler, he landed the fish on a white SPRO topwater frog. Thanks to a final-round total of seven bass weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces, McKnight took home $4,475 and a certificate for a fully rigged 519VX Ranger bass boat. The total value of his first victory is $34,475.
“I came into this event only looking for enough points to make it to the championship,” said McKnight. “It was a lot of hard work and very nerve racking especially when I blanked on day two. I was pretty excited last night because I knew I had a good partner who was capable of putting us on some good fish. When I caught the fourth fish, I started thinking I had a chance at this thing. Winning this event was way more than what I was hoping for.”
McKnight said the bait that got him to the finals was a black-and-red-flake Senko. When he saw the pads and grass Morgenthaler planned to fish on day four, he changed to the frog. McKnight topped the rest of the co-angler field by a whopping 4 pounds and 7 ounces.
He squeaked into the top-20 cut Thursday with a two-day total of four bass weighing, 10 pounds, 7 ounces. Amazingly, he zeroed on day two yet still qualified for the semifinal round. He then caught three bass weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces to set himself up for Saturday’s comeback.
“I’ve thought about being a boater in the Great Lakes Division of the BFL.”
In addition to future BFL tournaments, McKnight has most likely punched his ticket to the no-entry-fee $1 million Stren Series Championship in Decatur, Ala.
High five co-anglers
Andy Bylander of Amery, Wis., held down the second spot among the co-anglers for the second consecutive day. He caught two bass on day four, including one lengthy smallmouth, that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces. He finished with a two-day combined weight of 16 pounds, 4 ounces and a check worth $3,475.
Bylander caught the smallmouth, which weighed roughly 4 pounds, on a Chompers Tube.
Bud Strader of Rockwood, Tenn., finished third among the co-anglers with final-round total of 14 pounds, 3 ounces. During the final day of competition, he caught four bass that weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces. For his efforts, Strader earned too much stage time and a check worth $3,200.
Fourth place went to day-three leader Marty Barski of Crystal Lake, Ill., who zeroed Saturday yet still finished with 13-10 and a check for $2,260.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers was Kevin Whitaker of West Chicago, Ill., with two bass weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces. Whitaker walked away with $1,760 for a two-day catch of 12 pounds, 15 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists in the Stren Series Midwest Division event on the Mississippi River:
6th: John Farmer of Crete, Ill., 12-0
7th: Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind., 9-15 (points leader)
8th: Todd Kuipers of Lafayette, Ind., 9-7
9th: David Taylor of Riverview, Mich., 9-6
10th: Brad Lemke of Watertown, Wis., 4-9
Up next
The next Stren Series event is a Northeast Division contest on the Potomac River in La Plata, Md., Aug. 16-19.
The next Midwest Division event is scheduled for the Detroit River near Trenton, Mich., Sept. 6-9.