Hamilton’s Wilkens Claims Co-angler Title

LAKEVIEW, Ohio (June 26, 2017) – Michael Murphy of Troy, Ohio, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament on Indian Lake Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 2 ounces. For his win, Murphy took home $4,610.

“When I found out I won, it was unbelievable,” said Murphy, who earned his first career-victory in FLW competition. “I’ve wanted that trophy for a long time. I never expected it in a million years.”

To craft his limit, Murphy said he sat in 3 feet of water and threw a shad-colored Luck-E-Strike RC2 crankbait along small rock patches between seawalls.

“I hit a 150-yard stretch around Wolf Island,” said Murphy. “I caught my limit within the first 40 minutes of the event, culled one in the next hour and caught my biggest fish at 9:15 (a.m.). The wind was blowing into the bank, and I think it was pushing baitfish into the rock patches. It was one of those magical mornings.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Michael Murphy, Troy, Ohio, five bass, 11-2, $4,610

2^nd:         Daniel Sepeck, West Union, Ohio, five bass, 10-10, $2,505

3^rd:          Chris Bulaw, Wheaton, Ill., five bass, 10-1, $1,536

4^th:          Dan Moran, London, Ohio, five bass, 9-10, $1,176

5^th:          James Mayle, Newark, Ohio, five bass, 9-6, $845

5^th:          John Roth, Lawrenceburg, Ind., four bass, 9-6, $845

5^th:          James Hailstones, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 9-6, $845

8^th:          Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, five bass, 9-4, $614

8^th:          Tony Newland, Belle Center, Ohio, five bass, 9-4, $614

8^th:          Brandon Good, Fort Jennings, Ohio, four bass, 9-4, $614

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Dave Perry of Trenton, Ohio, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $670.

Brent Wilkens of Hamilton, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division and $2,505 Saturday after weighing five bass totaling 10 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Brent Wilkens, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 10-5, $2,505

2^nd:         Adam Coleman, Canal Winchester, Ohio, five bass, 8-7, $1,152

3^rd:          Ryan McCusker, Beaver Falls, Pa., five bass, 7-3, $768

4^th:          Alexander Datz, Thornville, Ohio, three bass, 6-15, $923

5^th:          Jon Angstmann, Saint Marys, Ohio, five bass, 6-13, $461

6^th:          Dennis Blakely, Norwalk, Ohio, four bass, 6-6, $423

7^th:          Bradley Fulton, Ray, Ohio, four bass, 6-3, $384

8^th:          Roy Lester, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 5-15, $346

9^th:          Alfie Bricker, West Portsmouth, Ohio, three bass, 5-8, $307

10^th:        Jeffrey Lewis, Greenup, Ky., three bass, 5-5, $269

Datz weighed the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a 4-pound, 12-ouncer. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $335.

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.