Big Bites Help Crosnoe to Title

Co-angler Gunter wins Gator Division Super Tournament

Robert Crosnoe of Inverness, Florida, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 9 ounces, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Gator Division Super Tournament on Lake Okeechobee, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 43 pounds, 13 ounces. For his win, Crosnoe took home $8,254.

“I caught all of my fish flipping a Hematoma-colored Reaction Innovations Kinky Beaver,” says Crosnoe, who earned his third career BFL win as a boater in FLW competition. “I had it rigged with a 1½-ounce tungsten weight on a 7’8” Fitzgerald Titan HD rod. I was also using PermaLine Braid Paint from Fitzgerald Fishing. I was painting my braid from the hook to 4 feet up the line, camouflaging my line. I believe the Braid Paint was the difference maker.”

Crosnoe flipped super heavy cover in several areas at the very back of Harney Pond. He estimated that he caught around 40 fish throughout the two-day event but only one area produced his bigger fish. Crosnoe caught four 7-pounders from the same spot.

“I caught two 7-pounders on Saturday and two more on Sunday,” Crosnoe says. “It was a ¼-mile stretch of the muddiest, slimiest, deadest water that you could find. There was some hyacinth that had recently been sprayed and was blown in. The bluegill were popping in the hyacinth and the big bass were there eating the bluegill.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:           Robert Crosnoe, Inverness, Fla., 10 bass, 43-13, $8,254

2^nd:          George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., 10 bass, 37-9, $3,627

3^rd:          Fred George, Okeechobee, Fla., 10 bass, 36-5, $2,417

4^th:           Kyle Monti, Okeechobee, Fla., 10 bass, 36-4, $1,693

5^th:           Mason Boylan, Melbourne, Fla., 10 bass, 34-1, $1,451

6^th:           Gary Milicevic, Labelle, Fla., 10 bass, 33-13, $2,625

7^th:           Tony Bennett, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 10 bass, 32-12, $1,209

8^th:           Brian Divito, Saint Petersburg, Fla., 10 bass, 32-6, $1,188

9^th:           Cedric Perry, Cross City, Fla., 10 bass, 31-7, $967

10^th:        Jared McMillan, Belle Glade, Fla., 10 bass, 31-7, $1,146

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 

Milicevic caught a bass weighing 8 pounds, 5 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the Boater Big Bass award of $1,095.

Gunter wins co-angler title

Rick Gunter of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, won the co-angler division and earned $3,627 with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:           Rick Gunter, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., 10 bass, 25-14, $3,627

2^nd:          Greg Hervey, Cape Coral, Fla., 10 bass, 25-7, $2,013

3^rd:          Charles Kilgore, Cape Canaveral, Fla., 10 bass, 23-11, $1,209

4^th:           Kevin Bermejo, Altamonte Springs, Fla., 10 bass, 23-4, $846

5^th:           Nik Kayler, Apopka, Fla., 10 bass, 22-14, $775

6^th:           Adam Trieschmann, Wellington, Fla., eight bass, 22-8, $665

7^th:           David DiMauro, Longwood, Fla., 10 bass, 22-0, $604

8^th:           Jackie Barber, Cocoa, Fla., 10 bass, 21-8, $544

9^th:           Robert Lauffer, Clermont, Fla., eight bass, 20-15, $1,031

10^th:        Kyle Stafford, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 20-11, $423

Lauffer caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $547.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.