Oxford’s Thome Takes Co-Angler Division

FALLS OF ROUGH, Ky. (May 6, 2019) – Boaters Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio, and Bryce Kalen of Greenwood, Indiana, each caught five bass Saturday weighing 12 pounds, 3 ounces, to tie for the win at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Hoosier Division opener on Rough River Lake. After contingency awards, Kalen earned $2,328, while Campbell took home $2,128.

“I spent a lot of time bed-fishing, so I went and caught two I had right away – one cast each,” said Campbell, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “I stayed toward the dam because the water was a little bit clearer. I was only focusing on small pockets on the dam side of the lake and would stop once I got to the halfway back of them because of how flooded they were. I ran maybe 10 different pockets all day and caught around 20 keepers.”

Campbell said he caught his fish using a wacky-rigged, green-pumpkin-colored Yamamoto Custom Baits Senko. He preferred a 7-foot, 2-inch St. Croix Mojo Bass Spinning Rod with a Lew’s Speed Spin Mach 2 reel and 10-pound-test PowerPro braided line with a 10-pound-test Seaguar Red Label fluorocarbon leader.

“I threw the Senko weightless around the front and sides of bushes,” said Campbell. “I let it sink and caught a few here and there. It seemed like the biggest ones I caught were out in front of the bushes.”

“I spent all of my time in the North Fork area of the lake and fished two spawning bays side by side,” said Kalen, who also earned his first win in FLW competition. “I targeted shallow water bushes and flat spawning banks. The water had come up 2 feet from practice, so I couldn’t see the spawning fish I’d marked. I had to fish for them only knowing they were there. Fishing the old bank line was key for me.”

Kalen said he caught six keepers, weighing three from a 4-inch green-pumpkin-colored Secret Lures Stupid Tube and two on a Texas-rigged, green-pumpkin Strike King Rage Bug. He used a 7-foot, medium-heavy Powell Max rod and Lew’s Tournament Pro reel with 15-pound-test Seaguar InvisX fluorocarbon line for the tube, and a 7-foot, 6-inch heavy-action Powell Endurance rod with 25-pound-test Seaguar AbrazX fluorocarbon line to flip the Rage Bug.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Bryce Kalen, Greenwood, Ind., five bass, 12-3, $2,328

1^st:          Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 12-3, $2,128

3^rd:          Danny Abrams, Greens Fork, Ind., five bass, 12-0, $1,048

4^th:          John Melton, Corydon, Ind., five bass, 11-15, $662

5^th:          Billy Doyle, Somerville, Tenn., five bass, 11-14, $568

6^th:          Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., three bass, 11-5, $835

7^th:          Matt McCoy, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 11-2, $773

8^th:          William Briere, Mooresville, Ind., five bass, 10-11, $426

9^th:          Scott Bateman, Jasper, Ind., four bass, 10-7, $628

10^th:        Richard Ison, New Washington, Ind., five bass, 9-7, $481

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

McClain caught a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $315.

Austin Thome of Oxford, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division and $1,419 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 9 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Austin Thome, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 9-8, $1,419

2^nd:         Robert Trey Lenear, Bedford, Ky., five bass, 8-0, $710

3^rd:          Dyllan Grace, Scottsburg, Ind., three bass, 7-13, $473

4^th:          Bo Bivins, Evansville, Ind., four bass, 7-8, $331

5^th:          Dale Walton, Greenwood, Ind., two bass, 6-13, $362

6^th:          Mark Redman, Pendleton, Ky., three bass, 6-12, $260

7^th:          Thorne Martin, Franklin, Ind., two bass, 6-9, $465

8^th:          Brian Short, Oxford, Ohio, three bass, 6-4, $313

9^th:          Michael Pruitt, Martinsville, Ind., three bass, 6-3, $189

10^th:        Billy French, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 5-7, $316

Walton and Martin both caught the bass weighing in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest of the day in the Co-angler Division – and split the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $156.

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. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in Buchanan, Tennessee, presented by Evinrude. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 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. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.