CANNELTON, Ind. (Aug. 28, 2017) – Todd Hensley of New Albany, Indiana, won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Hoosier Division tournament on the Ohio River Saturday after catching five bass weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces. For his efforts, Hensley pocketed $3,842. Hensley said he spent the event flipping stumps along a 200- to 300-yard stretch in the back of a creek on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River.
“The corps (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) had the water level low Saturday morning, so there were a lot of visible stumps,” said Hensley, who notched his third career-victory in BFL competition. “They were 2 feet down and right off of the bank. The key was the shady areas. The fish were relating to stumps that were under bushes, trees or some grass.”
Hensley said he used two lures to catch his fish – a 7-inch Blue Fleck-colored Berkley Power Worm, and a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw of the same color.
“I had 10 bites all day long, but I lost five of them,” said Hensley. “The five that I did get in the boat were the five that I weighed in.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Todd Hensley, New Albany, Ind., five bass, 7-4, $3,842
2nd: Jimmy Shepherd, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 6-9, $2,431
3rd: David Spivey, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-5, $1,582
4th: Travis Spivey, Trenton, Ohio, five bass, 6-4, $896
5th: Brian Funkhouser, Bloomington, Ind., five bass, 5-15, $768
6th: Dick Shaffer, Rockford, Ohio, five bass, 5-14, $704
7th: Mark Dove, North Vernon, Ind., three bass, 5-11, $640
8th: Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 5-7, $576
9th: Larry Sisk, Evansville, Ind., three bass, 4-14, $512
10th: Jim Pickett, Trafalgar, Ind., three bass, 4-10, $425
10th: Mark Heidt, Versailles, Ind., three bass, 4-10, $425
Shepherd caught a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass – the heaviest of the tournament in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $510. Kevin Napier of Lewisport, Kentucky, caught three bass weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $1,921.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kevin Napier, Lewisport, Ky., three bass, 4-4, $1,921
2nd: Travis Edgar, North Webster, Ind., four bass, 4-1, $960
3rd: Tyler Buell, Lafayette, Ind., one bass, 3-9, $799
3rd: Bo Bivins, Evansville, Ind., three bass, 3-9, $544
5th: Jeremy Caudill, Nineveh, Ind., two bass, 3-8, $384
6th: Jason Thornton, Corydon, Ind., two bass, 3-3, $352
7th: Griffin Fernandes, McCordsville, Ind., two bass, 2-11, $320
8th: Dan Schlegel, Cincinnati, Ohio, one bass, 2-10, $288
9th: Bobby Revalee, Connersville, Ind., two bass, 2-7, $227
9th: Matt Knox, Metamora, Ill., two bass, 2-7, $227
9th: Larry Kitchel, Logansport, Ind., one bass, 2-7, $227
Buell caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 3 pounds, 9 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $255.