SANDUSKY, Ohio (July 21, 2008) - Boater Bryan Coates of Amherst, Ohio., won the Bass Fishing League Michigan Division bass fishing tournament on Sandusky Bay Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 14 ounces. The victory earned Coates $2,946 plus a $519 Ranger bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Cherokee Lake Regional Championship in Morristown, Tenn., Oct. 16-18, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
"This is my fourth BFL win," said Coates, who has won more than $120,000 in FLW Outdoors events. "FLW Outdoors has been so good to me, especially with the Ranger Cup program. It's a great feeling and worth every ounce of effort."
Coates said his day started off slow with no bites after almost two hours of competition. Coates said he relocated and caught three fish quickly on a 4-inch green pumpkin Berkley Gulp! Sinking Minnow. Coates said he later filled his limit despite losing a few quality fish.
"When you're fishing a tournament, you don't really realize that you've got the winning bag," Coates said. "At the time, you're always worried."
Rounding out the top five boaters are Todd Schmitz of Goshen, Ind. (five bass, 20-03, $1,733); Mike Crisp of Union Grove, Wisc. (five bass, 19-14, $1,155); Brent Dunmyer of Weston, Ohio (five bass, 19-10, $809) and Stephen Roth of Syracuse, Ind. (five bass, 18-02, $693).
Mark Frickman of Grand Ledge, Mich., and Roth split the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, each earning $217.50 for a pair of 5-pound bass they caught.
James Buhrke of Chicago, Ill., earned $1,733 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce that he caught on a drop-shot rig.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Eric Penn of East Tawas, Mich. (five bass, 18-12, $866); Peter Sagartz of Roselle, Ill. (five bass, 17-06, $577); William Schwartz of Avon Lake, Ohio (five bass, 17-05, $404) and Joseph Nega of Chicago, Ill. (five bass, 17-01, $347).
Duane Mayhew of Warsaw, Ind., earned $217 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound bass on a black leech.
Michigan Division anglers will visit Lake St. Clair in Harrison Township, Mich., Aug. 9, followed by an event on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich., Aug. 30. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich., Sept. 27-28.