Jezek Locks Through for Title

Hess nets co-angler victory on Ohio River at Golconda

GOLCONDA, Ill. – Cole Jezek of Salem, Ill., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League Illini Division tournament of 2014 on the Ohio River. For his victory, Jezek earned $4,009.

“It happened pretty quick,” said Jezek, who earned his first BFL victory. “I locked through to the Tennessee River and ran to where I had found some smallmouth in practice, on a chunk-rock flat in about 16 feet of water. I had my limit within an hour. They were all good ones. Everything I caught was between 2 to 3 pounds and I caught one that was around 4 pounds. I hung around until about 11 a.m. and then made sure I got back in time.

“The current wasn’t as strong as it was during the week,” added Jezek. “Every time a barge went by it would put enough current in the water to get them to bite.

“My grandfather passed away on Wednesday night,” Jezek said. “I told my co-angler I was going to win it for him. It made for a really good day.”

Jezek said that he caught all of his fish on a ¾-ounce shaky head with a black Yamamoto Senko.

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

                2^nd:          Toby Corn, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 13-3, $2,005

                3^rd:          James Wright, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 12-14, $1,336

                4^th:           Scott Dunn, Harrisburg, Ill., five bass, 12-3, $935

                5^th:           Mike Barnes, Mackinaw, Ill., five bass, 11-14, $768

                5^th:           Mike Keller, Metropolis, Ill., five bass, 11-14, $768

                7^th:           Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 11-12, $668

                8^th:           Hilton Jones, Westfield, Ill., five bass, 11-5, $601

                9^th:           David Young, Mayfield, Ky., five bass, 11-3, $535

                10^th:        Alex Moore, Chester, Ill., five bass, 11-2, $468             

Complete results can be found by clicking here.

Hess wins co-angler title

Chad Hess of Scheller, Ill., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win $1,883 in the co-angler division.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

                2^nd:          Brett Anderson, Woodlawn, Ill., five bass, 10-10, $942

                3^rd:          Charles Hardin, Evansville, Ind., four bass, 10-6, $627

                4^th:           Jordan Borgmann, Ashley, Ill., five bass, 10-1, $439

                5^th:           Jim Budde, Waterloo, Ill., three bass, 8-15, $377

                6^th:           J.D. Walker, Noble, Ill., five bass, 8-10, $345

                7^th:           Jay Backer, Henderson, Ky., five bass, 8-9, $314

                8^th:           Michael Watson, Morton Grove, Ill., five bass, 8-5, $282

                9^th:           Obadiah Holsapple, Greenup, Ill., five bass, 8-4, $251

                10^th:        Brandon Broadway, Golconda, Ill., five bass, 7-15, $209

                10^th:        Michael Russell, Belleville, Ill., four bass, 7-15, $209

Complete co-angler results can be found by clicking 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.