Clint Bissonett of Beavercreek, Ohio, caught five bass weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament on the Ohio River. For his efforts, Bissonett took home $3,918.
“I stayed within four or five miles of the takeoff ramp to catch my fish,” says Bissonett, who earned his second career-win in BFL competition – both on the Ohio River. “I bounced between two or three creeks that had gotten me bites in practice, and ended up fishing each three or four times during the tournament. If I caught anything during a pass, I’d let the area replenish.”
Bissonett says his initial catches were shallow, in less than 2 feet of water, and that his key bait was a Texas-rigged dark-colored Zoom Z-Craw.
“The biggest factor for me was keeping track of the water level,” says Bissonett. “Each time I rotated through the creeks, I noticed that the water was getting higher. After it was up more than 8 inches, I knew I would be able to fish a new spot – a place that was normally too shallow for me to get to. I ran to the area at about 2:30 (p.m.) and caught two 2-pounders with only minutes left to fish.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Clint Bissonett, Beavercreek, Ohio, five bass, 8-4, $3,918
2nd: Ron Hiles, Piketon, Ohio, five bass, 7-8, $1,548
2rd: Jim Vitaro, Wooster, Ohio, five bass, 7-8, $1,848
4th: Bob Robinson, Lebanon, Ohio, five bass, 6-13, $805
4th: Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 6-13, $905
6th: Keith Wheelock, Springboro, Ohio, five bass, 6-11, $682
7th: David Spivey, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-10, $620
8th: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, five bass, 6-8, $558
9th: Mike Pickett, Brandenburg, Ky., four bass, 6-7, $496
10th: Josh Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-5, $434
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
John Wayne Cole of Hamersville, Ohio, caught a bass weighing 3 pounds, 7 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $485.
Sall wins co-angler title
Jeremiah Sall of Wintersville, Ohio, caught four bass weighing 8 pounds even to win the Co-angler Division and $2,080.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Jeremiah Sall, Wintersville, Ohio, four bass, 8-0, $2,080
2nd: Alfie Bricker, West Portsmouth, Ohio, five bass, 6-10, $1,120
3rd: Kenny Mitchell, Franklin, Ohio, five bass, 6-6, $612
4th: Brian Short, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 6-1, $479
5th: Colton Lindsey, Raymond, Ohio, four bass, 5-10, $368
6th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 4-15, $337
7th: Tyler Waller, Coal Grove, Ohio, three bass, 4-12, $307
8th: Gary Hoffman, Stoutsville, Ohio, three bass, 4-9, $276
9th: Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 4-8, $245
10th: Mark Wedan, Freetown, Ind., two bass, 4-4, $215
Sall also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 5 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $240.
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.