Dobson powered his way to victory

Jacques wins co-angler title

MOUNT CLEMONS, Mich. – Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division tournament of 2014 on Lake St. Clair. For his victory, Dobson earned $6,685.
“It’s a good feeling to win,” said Dobson. “I’ve won before, but you can never tell when it is going to happen again.”
Dobson explained that he targeted postspawn smallmouth in transition around flats with sand and grass.
“In the postspawn period, smallmouth are looking up,” Dobson said. “I power-fished a fluke, a jerkbait and a swimbait over the top of them in anywhere from 2  to 12 feet of water. I probably caught 35 or 40 bass. A lot of them were cookie-cutter fish, but I caught around 15 four-pounders.
“I fish St. Clair a lot,” Dobson continued. “St. Clair is just more consistent than Lake Erie is in June. Last year the fish were a little skinny. This year they seem healthier.”
Dobson said that he caught about 85-percent of his fish on a chartreuse shad-colored Lucky Craft Pointer 100 rip bait.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
               2nd:         Charles Mackintosh, Brighton, Mich., five bass, 21-4, $2,193
               3rd:          Brian Metry, Grosse Pointe, Mich., five bass, 20-9, $1,463
               4th:          Kyle Greene, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 20-3, $1,023
               5th:          John Zubkoff, Monroe, Mich., five bass, 19-2, $877
               6th:          John Black, Monclova, Ohio, five bass, 19-1, $804
               7th:          Donald Fleitz, Petersburg, Mich., five bass, 18-15, $731
               8th:          Arthur Teper, Lake Orion, Mich., five bass, 18-14, $658
               9th:          Devon Banks, Lake Orion, Mich., five bass, 18-8, $585
               10th:        Brian Jackson, Crete, Ill., five bass, 18-0, $512      
Complete results can be found here.

Erik Jacques of Harrison Township, Mich., weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $2,193 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
               2nd:         Mark Keller, St. Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 18-10, $1,096
               3rd:          Harbor Lovin, Fayetteville, Ohio, five bass, 18-5, $621
               3rd:          Joey Miller, Syracuse, Ind., five bass, 18-5, $621
               5th:          Jason Wallace, Lizton, Ind., five bass, 17-7, $439
               6th:          Bill Fox, Waterford, Mich., five bass, 16-13, $402
               7th:          Kevin Nelson, La Porte, Ind., five bass, 16-8, $365
               8th:          Joshua Yeazel, Plymouth, Ind., five bass, 16-7, $329
               9th:          Alexander Woodruff, Commerce Township, Mich., five bass, 16-4, $292
               10th:        Jorji Itoh, Beverly Hills, Mich., five bass, 16-2, $243
               10th:        Steve Morrow, Grand Rapids, Mich., five bass, 16-2, $243
Complete results can be found here.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 16-18 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.