OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Feb. 13, 2017) – Bryan Honnerlaw of Moore Haven, Florida, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Gator Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee. For his efforts, Honnerlaw earned the top award of $5,612.
“I saw some bass in practice that were chasing shad, so that told me what I needed to be focusing on for the tournament,” said Honnerlaw, who notched his first career win in BFL competition. “We fished the North Shore, specifically a hole in the grass with a shell bed.”
Honnerlaw said he used a variety of baits during the event, but relied heavily on a 3/8-ounce green-pumpkin-colored ChatterBait to catch his fish.
“I pulled up to the area and on my second cast I caught one,” said Honnerlaw. “I fished the ChatterBait with a slow retrieve. We just came off of a cold front, so they didn’t want to chase anything faster than that.”
Honnerlaw said he caught around 60 bass throughout his day.
“There weren’t a lot of big ones, but I did catch one close to 6 pounds,” said Honnerlaw. “I’m just glad that the bass I found in practice stayed put for more than a day.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Bryan Honnerlaw, Moore Haven, Fla., five bass, 21-5, $5,612
2nd: Anthony Ford, New Smyrna, Fla., five bass, 19-15, $2,706
3rd: Nathan Thomas, Weirsdale, Fla., five bass, 19-10, $1,899
4th: Mikey Keyso Jr., North Port, Fla., five bass, 19-1, $1,263
5th: Richard Sasina, Port Saint Lucie, Fla., five bass, 18-0, $1,082
6th: Kyle Monti, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 17-15, $992
7th: Greg Schultz, Naples, Fla., five bass, 17-10, $1,202
8th: Norman Pellegrini, Windermere, Fla., five bass, 17-9, $1,672
9th: Fred George, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 17-5, $722
10th: Kyle Walters, Grant-Valkaria, Fla., five bass, 17-4, $599
10th: Bradley MacQueen, West Palm Beach, Fla., five bass, 17-4, $599
Pellegrini caught an 8-pound, 13-ounce largemouth – the largest of the event – which earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $860. Roy Gentry of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, weighed in five bass totaling 22 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $3,136. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Roy Gentry, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., five bass, 22-9, $3,136
2nd: Bill Wight, Punta Gorda, Fla., five bass, 17-13, $1,353
3rd: Junior Iriban, Lantana, Fla., five bass, 17-8, $905
4th: Steve Smith, Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 17-6, $631
5th: Anthony Valachovic, Coral Springs, Fla., five bass, 15-3, $741
6th: Adam Hernandez, Miami, Fla., five bass, 14-7, $496
7th: Chris Baker, Wesley Chapel, Fla., five bass, 14-0, $501
8th: Jai Hunter Jr., Deland, Fla., five bass, 13-12, $406
9th: Nik Kayler, Apopka, Fla., five bass, 13-6, $361
10th: Kenneth Guy, Miramar, Fla., five bass, 13-5, $316
Gentry also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $430.