TRENTON, Mich. (July 12, 2004) - Boater Jim Liechty of Fort Wayne, Ind., earned $4,370 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Michigan Division bass fishing tournament on the Detroit River. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Michigan Division events and featured 166 boaters vying for the win, which earned Liechty 200 points in the Boater Division.
Liechty's winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 5 ounces, and they were caught around a rocky ridge near Pelee. He earned a $1,000 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and he received another $500 from Yamaha because his boat is powered by a Yamaha outboard. Garmin awarded him $1,000 for using only Garmin electronics during the event.
Tied for second were Butch Dobransky of Canton, Ohio, and Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio. Both anglers caught five bass weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces to earn $1,835 each. Aaron Talmage of LaGrange, Ind., claimed $1,136 as the fourth-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 18 pounds, 14 ounces. Finishing fifth and earning $961 was John Hempel of Brownstown with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces.
Bill Clark of Allegan took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $830 for a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a tube.
David Roche of Hazel Park bested 166 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,185 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces that he caught jigging a 9-inch white Mizmo tube on Lake Erie.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chris Langenfeld of Clinton, Ohio (five bass, 17 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,092); Chuck Elson of Zanesville, Ohio (five bass, 16 pounds, 3 ounces, $743); Karl Acord of Dearborn Heights (five bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces, $568); and Ricky Miller of Newark, Ohio (five bass, 14 pounds, 13 ounces, $481).
Eddie Frye of Gallipolis, Ohio, earned $415 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass he caught on a Lucky Strike tube.
The Michigan Division's next event will be held Aug. 7 on the Grand River near West Olive, followed by another event on the Detroit River in Trenton Aug. 21. The Michigan Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 18-19 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Detroit River near Trenton.