Patoka Lake Bass Fishing League 25 June 16

[Mike Cork]

BIRDSEYE, Ind. (June 27, 2016) – Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Hoosier Division tournament on Patoka Lake presented by Power-Pole. For his victory, Martinkovic received $5,879.
"I started the morning mid-lake throwing a bone-colored Heddon Zara Spook to bass up shallow," said Martinkovic, who earned the fourth win of his FLW career. "I ran a 100-yard stretch of bluegill beds and pulled the Spook fairly quickly. The water was clear so you didn't want them to have a chance to look at it. I caught two of my better ones, and ended up with three in the boat by 8:30 a.m.
"After that I fished points for the rest of the day," Martinkovic continued. "The ones I hit were long and protruding from the spawning pockets. I probably ran through 30 of them. I used a green-pumpkin football-head jig with a green-pumpkin Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw trailer."
Martinkovic said he went three hours without a bite, but managed to wrangle in two more fish by 1 p.m. to complete his limit. He said he finished the day with just six keeper bites.
"The boat traffic made it tough out there," said Martinkovic. "I also spent a lot of my time going for those big postspawn fish. I'm just thankful I had enough to win."
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
               1st:          Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 18-14, $3,879 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
               2nd:         Jeremy Knepp, Montgomery, Ind., four bass, 15-2, $1,940
               3rd:          John Schroering, Dubois, Ind., four bass, 15-1, $1,293
               4th:          Charlie Hentrup, New Albany, Ind., five bass, 14-9, $905
               5th:          Scott Spayd, Ferdinand, Ind., four bass, 14-5, $776
               6th:          Mike Quinlin, Mooresville, Ind., five bass, 13-10, $711
               7th:          Nick Uebelhor, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 12-15, $647
               8th:          John Melton, Corydon, Ind., four bass, 12-13, $582
               9th:          Ted Scheeter, Jasper, Ind., four bass, 11-13, $517
               10th:        Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 11-8, $453
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Tim Barkley of Indianapolis, Indiana, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day's Boater Big Bass award of $515.
Darron Read of Elizabethtown, Indiana, weighed in three bass totaling 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,940.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
               1st:          Darron Read, Elizabethtown, Ind., three bass, 8-4, $1,940
               2nd:         Chad Jackson, Indianapolis, Ind., two bass, 7-8, $970
               3rd:          Shane Oxford, Saint Meinrad, Ind., two bass, 5-15, $646
               4th:          Jim Betts, Fort Wayne, Ind., two bass, 5-12, $453
               5th:          Rod Yoder, West Lafayette, Ind., two bass, 5-11, $388
               6th:          Billy French, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 5-9, $356
               7th:          Jim Krider, North Vernon, Ind., one bass, 5-5, $580
               8th:          Brian Liming, Dilsboro, Ind., two bass, 5-4, $275
               8th:          Robert Revalee, Connersville, Ind., one bass, 5-4, $275
               10th:        Kenny Mitchell, Franklin, Ohio, one bass, 4-5, $226
Krider caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces and earned the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $257.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and 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 winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.