Stable Water Floats Justice to Victory
Fry claims co-angler title on Ohio River at Tanner's Creek
LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Pete Justice of Sharonville, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 10 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division tournament of 2014 on the Ohio River at Tanner’s Creek. For his victory, Justice earned $3,926.
“I went to a creek down by the dam,” said Justice. “The water level on the river has been fluctuating a lot. I was able to take advantage of a creek with more stable water levels.”
Justice said that he fished slightly submerged stumps with fry and shad around them with a spinnerbait, buzzbait and a 4-inch ringworm.
“I had the whole creek to myself for three hours,” said Justice. “I caught five keepers and a few smaller ones that were just barely too short.
“After I caught my last keeper I knew I had a shot to win,” finished Justice. “The best thing about this is that I was able to beat some of the best anglers around. It is a great achievement for me.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros:
2nd: Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 10-0, $1,963
3rd: Brandon Houston, Burlington, Ky., five bass, 9-3, $1,309
4th: Matt McCoy, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 8-0, $916 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
5th: Keith Wheelock, Beaver Creek, Ohio, five bass, 7-15, $785
6th: Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., five bass, 7-3, $720
7th: Bill Smith Jr., Burlington, Ky., three bass, 6-3, $654
8th: Charlie Smith, Union, Ky., five bass, 5-14, $589 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
9th: Bret Languell, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 5-13, $523
10th: Chris Combess, Cleves, Ohio, four bass, 5-6, $458
Complete results can be found by clicking here.
Fry wins co-angler title
Duane Fry of Bellefontaine, Ohio, weighed three bass totaling 5 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win $1,958 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
2nd: Gerald Shaw, Pendleton, Ind., three bass, 5-8, $979
3rd: Gary Johns, Piqua, Ohio, two bass, 4-10, $653
4th: J.R. Selke, Waynesville, Ohio, three bass, 4-6, $457
5th: Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 4-4, $392
6th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, four bass, 4-0, $359
7th: Jimmy Bean, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 3-15, $326
8th: Jim Betts, Fort Wayne, Ind., three bass, 3-12, $294
9th: Garry Kincaid, Martinsville, Ind., three bass, 3-11, $261
10th: Melvin McNeal, Circleville, Ohio, two bass, 3-6, $228
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.