GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (July 11, 2016) – Adam Ohms of Edwardsville, Illinois, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 24 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) LBL Division tournament on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. For his victory, Ohms earned $6,199.
“I won this event doing the exact opposite of what people would expect from a tournament on Kentucky Lake this time of year,” said Ohms, who earned the first win of his FLW career. “There was high water due to rain, so I decided to fish this tournament shallow.
“I spent the day fishing ditches in the backs of creeks north of Paris Landing,” Ohms continued. “There was a strong current coming in that was littered with baitfish and bass that were moving up shallow. I had 22 pounds in the boat by 7:30 a.m.”
Ohms said he used one bait to catch his limit – a black and blue-colored 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait.
“Every fish I caught came from less than 2 feet of water,” said Ohms. “They attacked the bait in open water and tried to bring it into the bushes. I didn’t go longer than 10 minutes without catching a fish all day long. I could go back and forth over the same cover and they just kept reloading. It was a lot of fun.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Adam Ohms, Edwardsville, Ill., five bass, 24-5, $4,199 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Thomas Sandefur, Kuttawa, Ky., five bass, 23-9, $2,100
3rd: Mark Robbins, Murray, Ky., five bass, 21-7, $1,398
4th: Josh Malone, Alma, Ill., five bass, 20-13, $980
5th: Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 20-10, $1,140
6th: Robert Behrens Jr., Dyersburg, Tenn., five bass, 20-3, $770
7th: Craig Hipsher, Benton, Ky., five bass, 20-0, $700
8th: Jamie Muench, McDonald, Tenn., five bass, 18-9, $630
9th: John Euler, Chandler, Ind., five bass, 18-7, $560
10th: Billy Schroeder, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 18-5, $490
Barry Goen of Marthasville, Missouri, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $585. Brett Miller of Fairdale, Kentucky, weighed in five bass totaling 21 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,100. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Brett Miller, Fairdale, Ky., five bass, 21-8, $2,100
2nd: Dennis Taylor, Murray, Ky., five bass, 17-13, $1,050
3rd: Dustin Baker, Bowling Green, Ky., five bass, 17-5, $701
4th: Ray Arning Jr., Walnut Hill, Ill., five bass, 15-14, $636
5th: Thomas White, Iron City, Tenn., five bass, 14-12, $420
6th: Ricky Boehringer, Troy, Ohio, five bass, 14-8, $385
7th: James Wathen, Louisville, Ky., four bass, 14-7, $350
8th: Gabe Montgomery, Jackson, Mo., five bass, 14-5, $315
9th: Jacob Greco, Edwardsville, Ill., five bass, 13-11, $280
10th: Jerry Perry, Olive Branch, Miss., four bass, 13-5, $245
Arning caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $146.