Vida victorious at BFL Michigan Division tournament

Kevin Vida of Clare topped 185 BFL competitors June 28 on Lake St. Clair with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him 200 points in the Boater Division. Angler: Kevin Vida.

June 28, 2003 • MLF • Archives

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – Kevin Vida of Clare topped 185 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Lake St. Clair with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him $4,734 and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Vida’s catch topped second-place boater Brian Rand of Mattawan by 8 ounces. Rand finished the one-day tournament with a five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces worth $2,367. As the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, Vida also claimed a $1,000 bonus from Ranger Boats, and he earned another $1,000 from Garmin for using a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/sounder.

Donald Hewkin of Zion, Ill. (five bass, 14 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,610); Miles Johnson of Beaver Creek, Ohio (five bass, 14 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,231); and Cecil Cole of Durand (five bass, 14 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,041) rounded out the top five boaters.

James Schmidt of Bay City placed first and earned $2,341 in the 183-competitor Co-angler Division. He surpassed second-place co-angler Scott Clark of Thornville, Ohio, by 10 ounces. Clark finished with a five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces worth $1,171.

In third place was Rob McMurray of Troy with a five-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces that earned him $796. Fourth place went to Bill Schroeder of Jonesville with a five-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 9 ounces that earned him $609. Tied for fifth place were Dale McCollum of Middlebury, Ind., and Jack Bush of Lima, Ohio, with a five-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 7 ounces. Both earned $468 for their catch.

Andy Nowyorkas Jr. of Burton earned boater big-bass honors and $925 with a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass, and Scott Davis of Coloma earned co-angler big-bass honors and $458 in his division with a 3-pound, 13-ounce bass.

The Wal-Mart BFL will visit the Detroit River July 12 for the second of five Michigan Division events. The boater with the most points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 27-28 on the Detroit River, will be declared the Yamaha “Be the Best” Points Leader and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.

The top 30 Michigan Division boaters and co-anglers will advance to regional competition Oct. 7-11 on Lake Chautauqua near Jamestown, N.Y., where they will go up against top competitors from the Buckeye, Northeast and Shenandoah divisions for a shot at qualifying for the Wal-Mart BFL All-American – one of the most lucrative postseason tournaments in competitive angling.

As much as $6 million will be awarded in the 2003 Wal-Mart BFL.

Editor’s Note: Ranger Cup award winners are pending verification by Ranger Boats and thus are unofficial at this time.