ROSEVILLE, Mich. – Clark Wolfe, 34, of Grove City, Ohio, out-fished 87 competitors Saturday to earn $3,407 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Michigan Division event on Lake St. Clair.
Wolfe caught five smallmouth bass weighing 19 pounds, 9 ounces during the one-day event to top Aaron Talmage of LaGrange, Ind., who finished with a five-bass catch of 17-11 worth $1,703. Wolfe caught his limit fishing rocks with plastic worms and Frenzy baits.
Robert Babrauckas of Streetsboro, Ohio, took third place and collected $852 with five bass weighing 17-4. David Reault of Livonia, Mich., placed fourth and earned $738 with five bass weighing 16-13, while David Green of Howell, Mich., placed fifth and earned $681 with five bass weighing 16-10.
Jonathan Bondy, 27, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award in the Boater Division and collected $435 with a 4-pound, 15-ounce smallmouth that he caught on a green tube jig. Wolfe won the Berkley Power Bait award, a package of baits valued at $200, for the heaviest overall catch on Power Bait or Frenzy lures.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,703 went to Kevin Scheibelhut, 33, of South Bend, Ind., who topped 87 competitors with five smallmouth bass weighing 17-1. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $852 went to Craig Baugher of Belleville, Mich., with five bass weighing 16-14, while Peter Merck of Westland, Mich., took third place and $426 with five bass weighing 15-5.
Gerald Szumiak, 44, of Pontiac, Mich., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $217 with a 4-pound, 13-ounce smallmouth that he caught on a jerkbait.
The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 16-17 on the Detroit River, will be declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.