BENTON, Ill. (April 28, 2008) - Boater Keith Cloe of Sessier, Ill., won the Bass Fishing League Illini Division bass fishing tournament on Rend Lake Saturday with a three-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 7 ounces. The victory earned Cloe $3,896 plus a $687 Ranger contingency bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Kentucky Lake Regional Championship in Benton, Ky., Oct. 2-4, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Cloe caught his bass on the north end of Rend Lake flipping bushes with a black and blue jig.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Toby Corn of West Frankfort, Ill. (four bass, 9-12, $2,292); Juice Wright of Dieterich, Ill. (four bass, 8-3, $1,529); Scott Freeman of Chicago, Ill. (two bass, 6-15, $993) and Charles Rutherford of Moro, Ill. (three bass, 6-15, $993).
Deno Ek of Perry, Mo., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $675 for a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught flipping bushes.
Michael Watson of Chicago, Ill., earned $2,253 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to one bass weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces that he caught on a spinnerbait in deep brush.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Aaron Wehmeyer of Smithton, Ill. (two bass, 5-10, $1,127); Terry Bassemier of Carmi, Ill. (one bass, 5-8, $751); Brian Futch of Goreville, Ill. (two bass, 5-3, $526) and David Yoho of Georgetown, Ill. (one bass, 4-13, $451).
Watson earned $327 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching his 5-pound, 11-ounce bass on a spinnerbait.
Illini Division anglers will visit Shelbyville Lake in Shelbyville, Ill., May 17 for their second regular-season event, followed by an event on the Ohio River in Golconda, Ill., June 28. The division's fourth qualifying event will be held on Shelbyville Lake in Findlay, Ill., July 19. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on the Ohio River in Golconda, Ill., Sept. 6-7.