Texas’ Cosculluela Takes Co-angler Title

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (July 17, 2017) – Erick Hodgins of Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, caught five bass weighing 23 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Michigan Division tournament on Lake St. Clair. Hodgins earned $4,342 for his efforts.

Hodgins said he spent the tournament targeting bass on the Canadian side of the border. He said his two key areas were weed beds in 18 to 20 feet of water.

“I went to my best area first, but went two hours without a bite,” said Hodgins, who was fishing in his first career BFL tournament. “I moved to my second spot and was able to put together my first limit. I had about 19 pounds there, but I still wanted to get back to the first area. I knew that’s where the bigger fish would be.”

Hodgins said once weather conditions improved, he returned to his first area and culled most of his limit.

“The sun came out and there was just a little ripple on top of the water, which was perfect,” said Hodgins. “I took advantage of my (Minn Kota) Ultrex’s spot-lock feature and picked the weed bed apart.”

Hodgins said he primarily used green pumpkin- or watermelon-colored tubes by Mike’s Rx Baits and Xtreme Bass Tackle. He also threw a Baby Bass-colored Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm on a drop-shot rig.

“I used a really long fluorocarbon leader which I think works well for clear water,” said Hodgins. “I think that’s what made the difference for me. It was a good day out there, that’s for sure.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Erick Hodgins, Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 23-11, $4,342

2^nd:         Michael Rhodes, Paw Paw, Mich., five bass, 22-1, $1,921

3^rd:          Jonathon Dewey, Port Huron, Mich., five bass, 21-12, $1,282

4^th:          Mark Modrak, China Township, Mich., five bass, 21-3, $996

5^th:          Brent Dunmyer, Weston, Ohio, five bass, 20-13, $768

6^th:          Kyle Greene, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 20-12, $704

7^th:          Jesse Schwark, Athens, Mich., five bass, 20-8, $640

8^th:          John Lovin, Fayetteville, Ohio, five bass, 20-2, $576

9^th:          John Scalf, Goshen, Ohio, five bass, 20-0, $512

10^th:        Zach Maisch, Lima, Ohio, five bass, 19-13, $448

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Tim Gillies of Union City, Michigan, caught a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $510.

Hugh Cosculluela of The Woodlands, Texas, won the Co-angler Division and $1,921 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 22 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Hugh Cosculluela, The Woodlands, Texas, five bass, 22-0, $1,921

2^nd:         Matt Vermilyea, Perrysburg, Ohio, five bass, 21-10, $960

3^rd:          Michelle Jalaba, Birmingham, Mich., five bass, 21-4, $741

4^th:          Josh Deyonker, Livonia, Mich., five bass, 20-12, $703

5^th:          Robert Busby, Fenton, Mich., five bass, 19-11, $384

6^th:          Daniel Holland, Beverly Hills, Mich., five bass, 19-2, $352

7^th:          Philip Borsa, Redford, Mich., five bass, 18-14, $320

8^th:          Curtis Hall II, Battle Creek, Mich., five bass, 18-5, $288

9^th:          Tate Compton, Hoopeston, Ill., five bass, 17-15, $256

10^th:        Mike Williams, Blanchester, Ohio, five bass, 17-13, $224

Deyonker caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $255.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the Barren River in Scottsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.