Aldridge Takes Co-angler Title

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (July 23, 2018) – Boater Pat White of Batavia, Ohio, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament on the Ohio River at Maysville. For his efforts, White brought home $3,337.

White said he spent the tournament fishing the main river and in creeks near the Captain Anthony Meldahl Locks and Dam.

“I started out on the main river just trying to figure out the fish, and then headed into Big Locust Creek where I caught three keepers, including my biggest,” said White, who logged his first win in FLW competition. “I returned to the main river and caught two more keepers to finish out my limit.”

White said he caught his fish by focusing on transition areas where deep water met the flats.

“I think the fish wanted to move up on the flats, but with the boat pressure and the water fluctuation I think they were held back,” said White. “By 9 a.m. I had my limit, but the main-river bite died and the current stopped. I knew then that the fishing was going to slow down.

“I kept working my way down the river until I found a creek that I had confidence in. I found one, Big Threemile Creek, which had some boats in it. I pulled up and ran the pattern that had been working. I culled once, around 1 (p.m.), and that ended up being my second-largest fish of the day.”

White said he caught his six keepers with six different baits – a homemade jig with a Flippin’ Blue-colored Zoom Super Chunk Jr. (which caught his biggest), a homemade spinnerbait, an American Shad-colored Lucky Craft Series 1.0 crankbait, a homemade black and silver-colored crankbait, a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Brush Hog and a green-pumpkin Berkley Chigger Craw.

“We’ve had a bit of rain recently. Some of the creeks were a little stained and some were clearer, and I had baits laid out for both,” said White. “The river changes every day. The water fluctuates and the current comes and goes. You’ve just got to trust your gut out there.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Pat White, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 9-1, $3,337

2^nd:         John Viox, Hebron, Ky., five bass, 8-5, $1,968

3^rd:          Bob Robinson, Lebanon, Ohio, five bass, 7-2, $1,112

4^th:          Mark Dove, North Vernon, Ind., five bass, 6-15, $779

5^th:          Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 6-14, $667

6^th:          Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 6-11, $612

7^th:          Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-8, $756

8^th:          Josh Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-4, $501

9^th:          Dennis Magoto, Waynesville, Ohio, five bass, 6-3, $545

10^th:        Dan Fry, Marysville, Ohio, four bass, 6-1, $389

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Steve Hengehold of Cincinnati, Ohio, brought a 2-pound, 13-ounce, bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $410.

Frank Aldridge of Wheelersburg, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division and $1,668 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Frank Aldridge, Wheelersburg, Ohio, five bass, 6-9, $1,668

2^nd:         Aaron Stahley, Batavia, Ohio, four bass, 5-14, $1,034

3^rd:          Jeff Gauspohl, Dayton, Ky., three bass, 5-4, $626

4^th:          Raymond Olberding, Batavia, Ohio, three bass, 5-0, $389

5^th:          Austin Thome, Oxford, Ohio, three bass, 4-15, $334

6^th:          Brent Wilkens, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 4-7, $342

6^th:          Mark Henderson, Martinsville, Ohio, two bass, 4-7, $292

8^th:          Mike Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 4-4, $250

9^th:          Clint Brodsky, Burlington, Ky., three bass, 4-2, $222

10^th:        Howard Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 3-13, $263

Smith caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 2 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $68.

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. 11-13 BFL Regional Championship on Chesapeake Bay in North East, Maryland. 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 2018 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 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, YouTube and Snapchat.