LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Buckeye Division will compete in their third event of the year on the Ohio River at Tanners Creek on July 19. This pool should offer good fishing with plenty of bites for the anglers.
This year, BFL anglers benefit from an expanded slate of Regionals, which minimizes travel costs and provides more opportunities to qualify for the $120,000 BFL All-American while fishing familiar, closer-to-home waters.
What to expect
It’d be hard to find many to match the MLF resume of Ohio’s Dick Shaffer, with 17 wins, including several on this river. He was victorious in the Hoosier Division Super Tournament last season on Tanners Creek and expects good fishing for this event if the rains don’t slow the bite.
“Assuming the river’s not completely messed up from rain, the fish should be biting pretty good,” said Shaffer. “As long as it’s not completely trashed, you should be able to catch them both on the main river and in the creeks in this one. The one positive is that when it does rain hard, it’s not usually up and down the whole river, and you can find some cleaner water.”
The main river or creek bite will be the variable in this event, but Shaffer tends to gravitate to the creeks.
“They’ll muddy up first, but clear up pretty quickly,” he said. “There’s plenty of laydowns and stuff in the creeks, and that’s where the better fish tend to come from for me.”
Shaffer expects plenty of limits and says that a kicker bass is one of the best ways to earn a win on a low-weight fishery like the Ohio River.
“This part of the river is probably the best anymore, but it’s a lot of small fish and you’ll see a lot of 5- and 6-pound limits,” he said. “Those bigger fish go a long way when weights are so tight. The 4-pounders are in there, and I’ve caught them all over the river and with different baits, you just have to bump into one.”
Baits to bring
Shaffer is straightforward with his lure selection and says moving baits will be key with buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits all likely to put fish in the boat. Then, you’ll need something to flip into the laydowns and other cover.
What will it take?
Greg Scythes won this season’s opener on Tanner’s Creek with 12 pounds, 5 ounces, but May is vastly different from July, and Shaffer expects somewhere between 9 and 11 pounds to take the win. Catching 6 pounds or better will put you in contention to cash a check.
Fishing 4 FREE!
Every Phoenix Bass Fishing League angler fishing the fourth event in each division will receive an Abu Garcia gift pack valued at $230 for boaters and $180 for co-anglers – a value that exceeds the entry fee. It’s like Fishing 4 FREE! Plus, participants will receive a code for 25% off an order at AbuGarcia.com. Sign up today at MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270) 252-1000 to take advantage of this incredible offer. Anglers will receive their gift box at the event.