CHEBOYGAN, Mich. (June 8, 2009) - Chad Pipkens of Holt, Mich., won the Bass Fishing League Michigan Division bass fishing tournament on Burt Mullett Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 27 pounds, 13 ounces. The victory earned Pipkens $3,671 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Fort Madison Regional Championship in Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 1-3, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
"The key to winning there is to get away from the crowd and to stay right on top of the fish," said Pipkens, who posted his second BFL win on Burt Mullett. "The fish don't venture very far, so you have to be right on them."
Pipkens said he used a drop-shot darter and targeted rocks and beds to catch his fish.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Derek Cummings of Mason, Mich. (five bass, 26-4, $1835); Mark Modrak of China Township, Mich. (five bass, 25-15, $1,224); Ryan Lapine of Portage, Mich. (five bass, 24-15, $856); Eric Bond of Ferndale, Mich. (five bass, 24-13, $703); and Erhardt Tulgestka of Rogers City, Mich. (five bass, 24-13, $703).
Pipkens and James Dixon of Douthfield, Mich., split the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $235 each for a pair of 6-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Kris Marble of Macomb, Mich., earned $1,835 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 21 pounds, 3 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bill Schroeder of Jonesville, Mich. (five bass, 20-15, $918); Tony Grubb of Ann Arbor, Mich. (five bass, 20-12, $612); Jay Van Dyke of Wyoming, Mich. (five bass, 20-2, $428); and David Matual of Chicago, Ill. (five bass, 19-9, $367).
Paul Grove of Elkhart, Ind., earned $235 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass.
The next Michigan Division event will be held on Sandusky Bay/Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio, July 18.