Dearborn Height’s Sawyer Claims Co-angler Title

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (Aug. 7, 2017) – Lance Tresenriter of Syracuse, Indiana, caught five bass weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Michigan Division tournament on Lake St. Clair presented by Navionics. For his efforts, Tresenriter took home $5,505.

“I spent the majority of the day mid-lake in 16 to 18 feet of water,” said Tresenriter, who notched his first career-victory in FLW competition. “I probably drifted through a half-mile stretch five or six times. The stretch had a lot of grass and perch. If there was a bare spot, there weren’t any bites. The perch were key for me, though.”

Tresenriter said he used a Smoke Purple-colored LureCraft Original “D” Darter on a drop-shot rig, and a Yellow Perch-colored Rapala DT10 Crankbait to catch approximately 10 keepers at his first area.

“I eventually moved to the northern end of the lake to a stop in Anchor Bay,” said Tresenriter. “Again, there was a lot of grass, but not as many perch as far as I could tell. I used a Perch-colored (Rapala) DT6 Crankbait and made two good culls to finish out the day.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Lance Tresenriter, Syracuse, Ind., five bass, 23-6, $3,505 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         John Devries, Fishers, Ind., five bass, 22-14, $1,753

3^rd:          Jeffrey Kindy, Wyandotte, Mich., five bass, 22-2, $993

3^rd:          Rob Campbell, Trafalgar, Ind., five bass, 22-2, $1,193

5^th:          Matthew Malmquist, White Lake, Mich., five bass, 21-13, $772

5^th:          Kyle Greene, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 21-13, $772

7^th:          Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 21-8, $584

8^th:          Dan Mittlestat, Woodhaven, Mich., five bass, 20-14, $526

9^th:          Jerry Arnett, Mexico, Ind., five bass, 20-11, $467

10^th:        Terry McWilliams, Greenfield, Ind., five bass, 20-3, $409

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Jonathon Dewey of Port Huron, Michigan, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $440.

Justin Sawyer of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, caught five bass weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $1,973.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Justin Sawyer, Dearborn Heights, Mich., five bass, 20-11, $1,973

2^nd:         Alex Newman, Wapakoneta, Ohio, five bass, 20-7, $876

3^rd:          Vickie Maisch-Rumer, Lima, Ohio, five bass, 19-15, $685

4^th:          Mike Raber, Wolcottville, Ind., five bass, 19-7, $409

5^th:          Curtis Hall II, Battle Creek, Mich., five bass, 18-8, $336

5^th:          Eric Polenz, Maybee, Mich., five bass, 18-8, $386

7^th:          J.J. Smith, Avon Lake, Ohio, five bass, 18-3, $292

8^th:          Olivia Sheely, Brooklyn, Mich., five bass, 18-2, $263

9^th:          Dewayne Eck, Angola, Ind., five bass, 18-0, $234

10^th:        Mark Saunders, Medina, Ohio, five bass, 17-12, $204

Sawyer also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $220.

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.