GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2017) – Boater Marty Sisk of Evansville, Indiana, caught a three-day cumulative total of 15 bass weighing 51 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional tournament on Kentucky Lake. For his win, Sisk earned $65,200 including a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and an automatic berth into the 2018 BFL All-American Championship. Sisk said he primarily fished on the south end of the lake near New Johnsonville, Tenn. He said his bass were all caught in less than 2 feet of water.
“I went to the southern end of the lake because there’s a lot more shallow water than on the northern part of the lake,” said Sisk, who earned his fifth career-win in BFL competition. “I felt it would be a lot easier for me to find fish in shallow water.
“My best spot was a little point right off the main river. I had a little milk run of 10 or 12 spots, but that one spot was better than the others. That’s where I caught most of my big fish.”
Sisk said he used a Bone-colored Heddon Zara Spook to catch all of his fish throughout the week.
“The first day I only caught six fish, but they were all over 4 pounds. The second day the fish did a lot better,” said Sisk. “On Sunday I fished new water in Richland Creek because the wind was so bad. I only caught five small keepers, but they were enough to hold the lead.”
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2018 BFL All-American were:
1st: Marty Sisk, Evansville, Ind., 15 bass, 51-10, $65,200
2nd: Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., 15 bass, 46-3, $10,100
3rd: Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., 15 bass, 40-1, $5,000
4th: Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., 12 bass, 38-6, $3,000
5th: John Devries, Fishers, Ind., 12 bass, 36-5, $2,000
6th: Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., 13 bass, 36-1, $1,800
Rounding out the top-10 boaters were:
7th: Robert Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-7, $1,600
8th: Doug Ruster, New Palestine, Ind., 12 bass, 35-5, $1,400
9th: Casey O'Donnell, Langston, Ala., 12 bass, 35-0, $1,200
10th: Leroy McDuffie, McLeansboro, Ill., 13 bass, 33-7, $2,000
Billy French of Hamilton, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard with a three-day cumulative catch of 12 bass weighing 41 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2018 BFL All-American were:
1st: Billy French, Hamilton, Ohio, 12 bass, 41-15, $45,200
2nd: James McWhorter, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 26-6, $5,000
3rd: Brian Huber, Saint Charles, Mo., nine bass, 23-6, $2,500
4th: Jason Papek, De Soto, Mo., six bass, 21-5, $1,500
5th: Josh Ford, Connersville, Ind., 10 bass, 20-9, $1,000
6th: Bobby Revalee, Connersville, Ind., six bass, 20-8, $900
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers were:
7th: Billy Gardner, Livingston, Tenn., six bass, 19-2, $800
8th: Lawrence Spicher, Boonville, Ind., six bass, 17-15, $700
9th: Ronnie Gill, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 16-9, $600
10th: Matt Knox, Metamora, Ill., three bass, 13-13, $500