BIRDSEYE, Ind. (June 27, 2016) – Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Hoosier Division tournament on Patoka Lake. For his victory, Martinkovic received $5,879.
“I started the morning mid-lake throwing a bone-colored Heddon Zara Spook to bass up shallow,” said Martinkovic, who earned the fourth win of his FLW career. “I ran a 100-yard stretch of bluegill beds and pulled the Spook fairly quickly. The water was clear so you didn’t want them to have a chance to look at it. I caught two of my better ones, and ended up with three in the boat by 8:30 a.m.
“After that I fished points for the rest of the day,” Martinkovic continued. “The ones I hit were long and protruding from the spawning pockets. I probably ran through 30 of them. I used a green-pumpkin football-head jig with a green-pumpkin Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw trailer.”
Martinkovic said he went three hours without a bite, but managed to wrangle in two more fish by 1 p.m. to complete his limit. He said he finished the day with just six keeper bites.
“The boat traffic made it tough out there,” said Martinkovic. “I also spent a lot of my time going for those big postspawn fish. I’m just thankful I had enough to win.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 18-14, $3,879 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Jeremy Knepp, Montgomery, Ind., four bass, 15-2, $1,940
3rd: John Schroering, Dubois, Ind., four bass, 15-1, $1,293
4th: Charlie Hentrup, New Albany, Ind., five bass, 14-9, $905
5th: Scott Spayd, Ferdinand, Ind., four bass, 14-5, $776
6th: Mike Quinlin, Mooresville, Ind., five bass, 13-10, $711
7th: Nick Uebelhor, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 12-15, $647
8th: John Melton, Corydon, Ind., four bass, 12-13, $582
9th: Ted Scheeter, Jasper, Ind., four bass, 11-13, $517
10th: Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 11-8, $453
Tim Barkley of Indianapolis, Indiana, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $515. Darron Read of Elizabethtown, Indiana, weighed in three bass totaling 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,940. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Darron Read, Elizabethtown, Ind., three bass, 8-4, $1,940
2nd: Chad Jackson, Indianapolis, Ind., two bass, 7-8, $970
3rd: Shane Oxford, Saint Meinrad, Ind., two bass, 5-15, $646
4th: Jim Betts, Fort Wayne, Ind., two bass, 5-12, $453
5th: Rod Yoder, West Lafayette, Ind., two bass, 5-11, $388
6th: Billy French, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 5-9, $356
7th: Jim Krider, North Vernon, Ind., one bass, 5-5, $580
8th: Brian Liming, Dilsboro, Ind., two bass, 5-4, $275
8th: Robert Revalee, Connersville, Ind., one bass, 5-4, $275
10th: Kenny Mitchell, Franklin, Ohio, one bass, 4-5, $226
Krider caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $257.