Burton Wins on the Detroit River
Co-angler victory goes to Kich
Boater Wilson Burton of Findlay, Ohio, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale weighing 40 pounds, 2 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Michigan Division Super-Tournament at the Detroit River. For his victory, Burton earned $7,829.
The tournament was the fifth and final event in the 2020 Michigan Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.
“I’ve fished BFL’s for years and have come close to a win, but this is my first victory and it feels good,” said Burton. “I changed things up and started bouncing hole to hole which has been beneficial.
“I tend to get stuck in one spot and think they will show up, but the key to smallmouth is to keep jumping. I probably hit 15 different spots each day and I think it paid off.”
Burton said he caught his key fish using mango magic-colored Poor Boys Tubes and green pumpkin and goby-colored Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worms.
Top 10 boaters:
1st: Wilson Burton of Findlay, Ohio, 10 bass, 40-2, $7,829
2nd: Cody Kelley of Portage, Mich., 10 bass, 39-12, $2,664
3rd: Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich., 10 bass, 39-6, $2,459
4th: Heath Wagner of Angola, Ind., 10 bass, 39-5, $1,243
5th: Jeremy Antrup of Fremont, Ind., 10 bass, 38-0, $1,066
6th: John Devries of Fishers, Ind., 10 bass, 37-7, $977
7th: Pat Upthagrove of Monroe, Mich., 10 bass, 34-13, $888
8th: Randy Ramsey of Burlington, Mich., 10 bass, 34-1, $799
9th: David Reault of Livonia, Mich., 10 bass, 32-9, $910
10th: Nathan Troyanek of New Boston, Mich., nine bass, 30-7, $622
Dobson earned the day’s $682 Boater Big Bass award with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Burton took home an extra $2,500 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Co-angler victory goes to Kich
Brian Kich of Berea, Ohio, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Sunday after catching a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 13 ounces. Kich earned $2,664 for his victory.
Top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Brian Kich of Berea, Ohio, 10 bass, 35-13, $2,664
2nd: John Ward of Trenton, Mich., nine bass, 29-7, $1,332
3rd: Andrew Troyer of Syracuse, Ind., eight bass, 28-3, $889
4th: Rusty Low of Greenfield, Ind., nine bass, 26-14, $622
5th: Todd Layne of Poca, W.Va., nine bass, 26-3, $533
6th: Randall Hoover of Royal Oak, Mich., seven bass, 24-2, $829
7th: David Borsa of Redford, Mich., seven bass, 21-10, $444
8th: Tony Grubb of Ann Arbor, Mich., eight bass, 21-4, $400
9th: Gordon Reilly of Indianapolis, Ind., six bass, 20-3, $555
10th: Logan Roller of Tremont, Ill., five bass, 18-8, $311
Hoover earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $341 with a fish weighing in at 6 pounds even.