CELINA, Ohio (April 25, 2016) – Gary Ginter of Maplewood, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament on Grand Lake. For his victory, Ginter took home $5,905.
“I started out my day on the south side of the lake fishing canals that I had marked in practice,” said Ginter, who earned his third win in FLW competition. “I had to adjust my pattern a bit due to boat traffic and ended up at my backup spot targeting wood and caught a few fish fairly quick.”
Ginter said he flipped the wood using a custom black soft-plastic creature bait.
“I moved it slow with short hops,” said Ginter. “It resembles a Zoom Brush Hog and it got me through the seven areas I hit throughout my day.”
At 12:30 p.m., Ginter said he had four fish in the boat and decided to finish the event running his bait along rocks.
“After the sun came out, I filled my limit and culled when I could,” said Ginter. “I ended up with nine keepers. Basically I paid attention to what others were doing and did the opposite.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Gary Ginter, Maplewood, Ohio, five bass, 13-1, $5,905
2nd: Todd Hahn, Heath, Ohio, five bass, 12-0, $2,453
3rd: Scott Tangeman, Chickasaw, Ohio, five bass, 11-4, $2,375
4th: Kenneth Pincombe, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 10-15, $1,063
4th: Dan Moran, London, Ohio, five bass, 10-15, $1,063
6th: Brad Baldwin, Waynesville, Ohio, five bass, 10-14, $899
7th: Miles Johnson, Kettering, Ohio, five bass, 10-4, $1,118
8th: Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 10-3, $695
8th: Ray Philhower, Milford, Ohio, four bass, 10-3, $695
10th: Bob Abrams, Williamsburg, Ohio, four bass, 10-0, $572
Tangeman caught a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $740. Brandon Knapmeyer of Union, Kentucky, weighed in four bass totaling 8 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,436. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Brandon Knapmeyer, Union, Ky., four bass, 8-2, $2,436
2nd: John Long, New Bremen, Ohio, four bass, 8-1, $1,016
2nd: Dennis Sepeck, Bethel, Ohio, three bass, 8-1, $1,016
4th: Brett Warrick, Westerville, Ohio, five bass, 7-9, $568
5th: Mark Henderson, Martinsville, Ohio, four bass, 7-3, $487
6th: Jacob Bierman, Cincinnati, Ohio, four bass, 6-15, $447
7th: Owen Warner, Fairborn, Ohio, three bass, 6-9, $406
8th: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, three bass, 5-12, $345
8th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 5-12, $345
10th: William Miller, Perry, Ohio, one bass, 5-11, $651
Miller caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $367.