Lindsey Earns Co-angler Title

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (July 17, 2017) – Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament on the Ohio River Saturday after catching five bass weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces. For his efforts, Martinkovic took home $6,640.

“I only fished about five miles from the takeoff ramp because the main river is flooded and there was a lot of debris,” said Martinkovic, who notched his fifth career-win in BFL competition – third on the Ohio River. “I picked apart flooded wood in less than 2 feet of water and caught 10 to 15 keepers.

“The majority of my fish were caught on a black (D&L Tackle) Advantage Jig with a black (Zoom) Super Chunk Jr. trailer,” continued Martinkovic. “I hit about 20 small areas with debris and logjams and did a lot of culling.”

Martinkovic said his personal history on the river was a crucial part of his success.

“It’s my home pool, so I know just about every piece of wood out there,” said Martinkovic. “When it’s muddy like that you have to put your head down and fish. There weren’t too many secrets out there.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 9-2, $4,640 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 7-7, $1,730

2^nd:         James Hailstones, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 7-7, $1,730

4^th:          Sean Wieda, Florence, Ky., five bass, 7-5, $970

5^th:          Ronald Nutter, Saint Louisville, Ohio, five bass, 7-2, $931

6^th:          Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 6-15, $762

7^th:          Mike Combs, Frenchburg, Ky., five bass, 6-14, $693

8^th:          Dave Fricke, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 6-11, $623

9^th:          Josh Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-10, $554

10^th:        Craig Burwell, North Baltimore, Ohio, five bass, 6-7, $485

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Martinkovic’s limit included a 3-pound, 11-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $285.

Colton Lindsey of Raymond, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division and $2,178 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Colton Lindsey, Raymond, Ohio, four bass, 5-11, $2,178

2^nd:         Kenny Mitchell, Franklin, Ohio, five bass, 5-7, $1,039

3^rd:          Gary Hoffman, Stoutsville, Ohio, three bass, 5-6, $691

4^th:          Jeffrey Yost, Zanesfield, Ohio, three bass, 4-15, $770

5^th:          Lawrence Clontz, Middletown, Ohio, four bass, 4-5, $416

6^th:          Brett Warrick, Westerville, Ohio, four bass, 4-2, $431

7^th:          Bill Cordle, London, Ohio, two bass, 3-14, $346

8^th:          Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 3-13, $312

9^th:          Hunter Fillmore, Waynesville, Ohio, two bass, 3-8, $277

10^th:        Herbert Jones, Cincinnati, Ohio, two bass, 3-5, $242

Yost caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 3 pounds, 3 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $285.

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.