CORTLAND, Ohio (Aug. 20, 2018) – Boater Steve Hatfield of Ashland, Ohio, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament at Mosquito Lake. Hatfield earned $3,426 for his victory. According to post-tournament reports, Hatfield caught his fish near the dam, targeting grass lines in 4 to 8 feet of water with a green-pumpkin-colored Rat-L-Trap.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Steve Hatfield, Ashland, Ohio, five bass, 16-15, $3,426
2nd: Sean Wieda, Florence, Ky., five bass, 15-10, $1,713
3rd: Mark Dove, North Vernon, Ind., five bass, 15-4, $1,141
4th: Craig Burwell, North Baltimore, Ohio, five bass, 14-13, $799
5th: Brock Spencer, Waynesfield, Ohio, five bass, 14-7, $685
6th: Mervin Miller, Sugarcreek, Ohio, five bass, 14-2, $1,258
7th: Butch Dobransky, Canton, Ohio, five bass, 13-8, $671
8th: Mike Lockhart, Belpre, Ohio, five bass, 12-13, $514
9th: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, five bass, 12-10, $428
9th: Art Bailey, Twinsburg, Ohio, five bass, 12-10, $428
Miller caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Boater’s Big Bass award of $430. Hans Vetter of Bryan, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces. Vetter earned $1,713 for his victory.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Hans Vetter, Bryan, Ohio, five bass, 14-10, $1,713
2nd: Brian Short, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 11-13, $1,056
3rd: Frank Aldridge, Wheelersburg, Ohio, five bass, 11-10, $621
4th: Brett Warrick, Westerville, Ohio, five bass, 11-9, $400
5th: Jordan Scales, Russells Point, Ohio, five bass, 10-13, $343
6th: Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 10-9, $314
7th: John Garrett, Orient, Ohio, five bass, 10-6, $271
7th: Darrell Carroll, Independence, Ky., five bass, 10-6, $271
9th: Hunter Fillmore, Waynesville, Ohio, five bass, 10-2, $228
10th: Bill Langille, Kent, Ohio, five bass, 9-14, $200
Billy French of Hamilton, Ohio, earned the Co-Angler Big Bass Award of $107 after bringing a bass weighing 3 pounds, 12 ounces to the scale.