LAKEVIEW, Ohio (May 23, 2022) – Boater Michael Nesbitt of St. Paris, Ohio, caught five bass Saturday weighing 10 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the MLF Bass Fishing League tournament on Indian Lake. The tournament was the season-opener for the Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division. Nesbitt earned $5,154 for his victory.
“We went back to the Game Preserve where there was one spot I wanted to fish, and there were already boats there,” Nesbitt said. “I’m a big frog fisherman, but there were people already frogging there, so I just went to finesse fishing. We had boats literally right beside us all day. I threw a wacky rig and a swimbait, then caught one right at the end of the day on a frog that was a good cull up.”
Nesbitt said he made long casts to fish guarding fry around grass and lily pads and said the key to his success was bait placement more than anything else. He said he caught nine fish, all keepers, during the tournament.
“It was a pretty simple day, really,” Nesbitt said. “We just battled it out in one little area.
“All of my fish came on a spinning rod in the heavy vegetation,” Nesbitt added. “I was really trying to focus on winning this event and pre-fished four or five times for it. I’ve spent a lot of time on that lake.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Michael Nesbitt, St. Paris, Ohio, five bass, 10-3, $5,154
2nd: Josh Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 9-12, $3,477 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: Quentin Smith, Minford, Ohio, five bass, 9-7, $1,719
4th: Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 9-4, $1,117
4th: Dave Fricke, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 9-4, $1,117
6th: Jeffrey Cummins, Marion, Ohio, five bass, 9-2, $945
7th: Benjamin Quisno, Waynesville, Ohio, five bass, 8-12, $859
8th: Dan Fry, Marysville, Ohio, five bass, 8-11, $973
9th: Tanner Ward, Woodsfield, Ohio, five bass, 8-9, $687
10th: Brandon Cline, Wheelersburg, Ohio, five bass, 8-5, $601
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Jarrett Martin of Mansfield, Ohio, caught a largemouth weighing 4 pounds, 6 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $795. Jeffrey Smith won the Co-angler Division and $2,512 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 10 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jeffrey Smith, five bass, 10-1, $2,512
2nd: Jacob Alltop, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 8-13, $1,256
3rd: Braden Fairbanks, five bass, 6-15, $712
3rd: Brian Reynolds, five bass, 6-15, $712
5th: Justin Smith, Middletown, Ohio, four bass, 6-10, $602
6th: Brad Lyon, Dublin, Ohio, five bass, 6-7, $461
7th: Aaron Lewis, five bass, 5-13, $419
8th: Christopher Chapman, four bass, 5-11, $377
9th: Howard Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 5-7, $535
10th: Brent Wilkens, Hamilton, Ohio, four bass, 5-4, $293
Larry Dew of Allison Park, Pennsylvania, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $387.