Indiana’s Raber Takes Co-angler Title

TRENTON, Mich. (Aug. 21, 2017) – Cody Kelley of Portage, Michigan, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Michigan Division tournament on the Detroit River presented by Navionics. Kelley pocketed $4,316 for his win.

Kelley said he spent his day in the middle of Lake Erie focusing on a 100- by 50-foot length of scattered chunk rock in 25 feet of water. He said he used one lure to catch his limit – a green-pumpkin-colored V&M Smallie Tube.

“I found the area last Sunday during practice and weighed around 23 pounds of bass on a hand scale,” said Kelley, who earned his first career-victory as a boater in BFL competition. “During the event, the school was about 30 yards from where I caught them Sunday. It was one of those magical days where everything came together.”

Kelley said he caught his first bass around 8:30 a.m., and the heaviest fish of the event – a 6-pound, 9-ouncer – at 11:15 a.m.

“My Denali rods were really what did it for me,” said Kelley. “I was able to feel the bites. I tried to use a custom-made rod at one point, but it didn’t help. The guides on the Denali worked the best.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Cody Kelley, Portage, Mich., five bass, 23-9, $4,316

2^nd:         Michael Sitko, Pinckney, Mich., five bass, 22-0, $1,920

3^rd:          Terry McWilliams, Greenfield, Ind., five bass, 21-12, $1,214

4^th:          Steve Clapper, Lima, Ohio, five bass, 21-3, $850

5^th:          Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $728

6^th:          Joseph Nega, Chicago, Ill., five bass, 20-1, $637

6^th:          Joshua Barr, Stow, Ohio, five bass, 20-1, $637

8^th:          John Devries, Fishers, Ind., five bass, 19-14, $546

9^th:          Aaron Limber, Millbury, Ohio, five bass, 19-9, $485

10^th:        Tom Cooley, Waterford, Mich., five bass, 19-8, $425

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Kelley’s 6-pound, 9-ounce bass also earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $475.

Mike Raber of Wolcottville, Indiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $1,820.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Mike Raber, Wolcottville, Ind., five bass, 22-8, $1,820

2^nd:         Chris Fraser, Canton, Mich., five bass, 19-12, $910

3^rd:          John Black, Monclova, Ohio, five bass, 18-13, $607

4^th:          Tony Grubb, Ann Arbor, Mich., five bass, 18-1, $425

5^th:          David Michaelis, Commerce, Mich., five bass, 17-14, $364

6^th:          Alex Newman, Wapakoneta, Ohio, five bass, 17-6, $334

7^th:          Jason Roberts, Bargersville, Ind., five bass, 17-3, $303

8^th:          Jeff Cox, Saline, Mich., five bass, 17-1, $373

9^th:          Christopher Majerle, Trenton, Mich., five bass, 16-15, $243

10^th:        Aaron Stahley, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 16-10, $262

Brian Kich of Berea, Ohio, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $237.

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.