WHITTINGTON, Ill. (May 15, 2017) – Marty Sisk of Evansville, Indiana, won the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Illini Division tournament on Rend Lake Saturday after weighing three bass totaling 10 pounds, 12 ounces. For his victory, Sisk took home $4,341. Sisk said he spent his day on the lower end of the lake in Marcum Branch creek, near the dam. He said he targeted bass in pockets and points along a route that stretched nearly a mile.
“I fished in 3 to 4 feet of water and caught them out of flooded buck brush and willow trees,” said Sisk, who earned his fourth career-win in BFL competition. “It was the cleanest water on the lake, which I really liked.”
Sisk used two lures throughout his day – a ¾-ounce chartreuse and white-colored Mann’s Lures Classic spinnerbait, and a green-pumpkin Lunker Lure Ultimate Rattlin’ Jig with a Zoom Super Chunk trailer, treated with Strike Force attractant.
“It was a tough day out there – I only caught two in the morning and one on the afternoon,” said Sisk. “If the cover was thick I’d use the jig, if it was thin I threw the spinnerbait.”
Around 9:30 a.m., Sisk caught the largest bass of the event on the spinnerbait.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Marty Sisk, Evansville, Ind., three bass, 10-12, $4,341
2nd: Jeremy Mull, Chatham, Ill., four bass, 9-0, $1,935
3rd: Alex Moore, Chester, Ill., two bass, 6-15, $1,224
4th: Jerry Walker, Zeigler, Ill., two bass, 6-14, $1,156
5th: Dan Shoraga, West Frankfort, Ill., three bass, 6-8, $734
6th: John Templeton, Coulterville, Ill., three bass, 6-4, $673
7th: Brad Porter, Bluford, Ill., three bass, 6-0, $612
8th: Larry Page, Mount Vernon, Ill., two bass, 5-10, $520
8th: Chad Diedrich, Nashville, Ill., three bass, 5-10, $520
10th: Tim Davis, East Alton, Ill., one bass, 5-6, $428
Sisk’s biggest bass weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce and earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $470. Brandon Depew of Odin, Illinois, won the Co-angler Division and $1,835 Saturday after weighing two bass totaling 4 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Brandon Depew, Odin, Ill., two bass, 4-3, $1,835
2nd: Ryan Fancher, Olney, Ill., two bass, 4-2, $1,118
3rd: Mike Swetland, Tamaroa, Ill., two bass, 3-6, $662
4th: Jim Budde, Waterloo, Ill., two bass, 3-5, $397
4th: Mario Rossi Jr., Granite City, Ill., two bass, 3-5, $397
6th: Greg Griffith, Harrisburg, Ill., one bass, 3-1, $571
7th: Doug Miller, Peoria, Ill., one bass, 2-13, $306
8th: Eric Cote, Elburn, Ill., one bass, 2-10, $260
8th: Scott Payne, Ingraham, Ill., one bass, 2-10, $260
10th: William Richno, Raymond, Ill., one bass, 2-7, $214
Griffith’s 3-pound, 1-ounce bass was the largest among Co-angler Division anglers, and earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $235.