Illinois’ Pinkowski Tops Co-Angler Field

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (Aug. 5, 2019) – Boater Kyle Greene of Ortonville, Michigan, took top honors at Saturday’s T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Michigan Division tournament on Lake St. Clair after catching five bass weighing 23 pounds, 7 ounces. Greene took home $5,753 for his win.

“I was fishing the Canadian side of the lake in 16 to 22 feet of water, throwing a tube and a drop-shot rig and I caught over 50 keepers,” said Greene, who earned his third career victory in BFL competition on Lake St. Clair – second in 2019. “I had a 2-mile radius that had little sweet spots here and there, with  a mixture of sand and grass.”

Greene said he used a 4-inch, Fiesta Melon-colored Provider Tackle Tube – the same bait that helped him win the BFL tournament on Lake St. Clair in June – and various 3-inch Berkley Gulp! Minnow Baits on a drop-shot rig, adding that he weighed all smallmouth. He rigged the baits on Lew’s CXP40 Spinning reels and Dobyns DX 743SF Spinning rods.

“There was no rhyme or reason [to my drop-shots] – I’d catch one on one kind of [Gulp!] bait and one on another,” said Greene. “I rotated between the tube and drop-shot to change it up when they weren’t biting. It was a little slow at first, but it picked up from 9:30 [a.m.] to 1 [p.m.]. It was a great day out there.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Kyle Greene, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 23-7, $3,753 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 22-8, $2,632

3^rd:          William Cisler, Delton, Mich., five bass, 22-6, $1,007

3^rd:          Gary Solomon, Clinton Township, Mich., five bass, 22-6, $1,007

5^th:          Troy Stokes, Brownstown, Mich., five bass, 22-3, $711

6^th:          Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., five bass, 21-15, $651

7^th:          Cameron Moore, Howe, Ind., five bass, 21-3, $592

8^th:          Amon Jay Troyer, Millersburg, Ind., five bass, 20-14, $533

9^th:          Jeremy Antrup, Fremont, Ind., five bass, 20-13, $474

10^th:        Brad Ballew, Macomb Township, Mich., five bass, 20-8, $415

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Dobson caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $455.

Jeremy Pinkowski of Oak Forest, Illinois, won the Co-angler Division and $2,127 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 21 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Jeremy Pinkowski, Oak Forest, Ill., five bass, 21-15, $2,127

2^nd:         Austin Freed, Wolcottville, Ind., five bass, 21-7, $888

3^rd:          Larry Salisbury, Oxford, Mich., five bass, 21-4, $742

4^th:          Aaron Stahley, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 21-0, $385

4^th:          Jim Stone, Greenwood, Ind., five bass, 21-0, $385

6^th:          Mark Saunders, Valley City, Ohio, five bass, 20-12, $326

7^th:          Tom Stark, Angola, Ind., five bass, 20-8, $281

7^th:          Gordon Reilly, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 20-8, $281

9^th:          Kendra Mueller, Pinckney, Mich., five bass, 19-15, $222

9^th:          Alex Redwine, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 19-15, $222

Bill Deverny of Wellston, Michigan, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $227.

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 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. 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.