Cunningham Tops Erie Opener

Borsa nets co-angler title in Michigan Division event

Mike Cunningham of Fenton, Michigan, caught five bass weighing 23 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Michigan Division opener on the Detroit River. Cunningham took home $3,718 for his victory.

“I’ve been fishing BFL tournaments for a long time and this is my first win – it’s pretty special,” says Cunningham, whose previous top finish in BFL competition was a 19^th-place showing on Lake St. Clair in 2015. “I targeted a ridge in Lake Erie that had a nice flat. It stayed active until noon and then it shut down.”

Cunningham began his day using a green pumpkin-colored Smack Daddy Baby Elite Tube. He put a couple of good fish in the boat with the tube, but decided to switch techniques after losing two 4- and 5-pounders. 

“After I lost the bigger fish I picked up my drop-shot rod and went to work,” says Cunningham. “I used a Poor Boy’s Erie Darter in 12 feet of water and stuck them hard. I probably caught 40 fish, and was releasing 4-pounders at one point. It ended up being a great day out there.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Mike Cunningham, Fenton, Mich., five bass, 23-1, $3,718

2^nd:         Arthur Teper, Lake Orion, Mich., five bass, 22-1, $2,544

3^rd:          Kyle Greene, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 21-12, $1,338

4^th:          Dan Mittlestat, Woodhaven, Mich., five bass, 20-9, $867

5^th:          David Reault, Livonia, Mich., five bass, 19-11, $744

6^th:          Mark Modrak, China Township, Mich., five bass, 19-5, $982

7^th:          Randy Ramsey, Burlington, Mich., five bass, 19-0, $620

8^th:          Michael Sitko, Pinckney, Mich., five bass, 18-12, $558

9^th:          Freddy Hurley, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 18-10, $496

10^th:        Jerry Arnett, Mexico, Ind., five bass, 18-9, $434

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Teper caught a 5-pound, 11-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $485.

Borsa tops Co-angler Division

Philip Borsa of Redford, Michigan, caught five bass weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the Co-angler Division and $1,859.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Philip Borsa, Redford, Mich., five bass, 19-5, $1,859

2^nd:         Aaron Stahley, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 18-4, $974

2^nd:         Jeffrey Thomson, Birmingham, Mich., five bass, 18-4, $774

4^th:          John Lovin, Fayetteville, Ohio, five bass, 17-14, $555

5^th:          Jerry Propst, Jasper, Texas, five bass, 17-11, $422

6^th:          Cyril Haxton, Peru, Ind., five bass, 17-10, $325

6^th:          Robert Hernandez, Canton, Mich., five bass, 17-10, $325

8^th:          Jamie Elliott, Warsaw, Ind., five bass, 17-9, $279

9^th:          Erik Jacques, Harrison Township, Mich., five bass, 17-5, $248

10^th:        Matt Vermilyea, Perrysburg, Ohio, five bass, 16-12, $206

10^th:        Dan O’Neil, Canton, Mich., five bass, 16-12, $206

John Murphy of Mooresville, Indiana, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $121.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the Barren River in Scottsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.