SHELBYVILLE, Ill. (May 15, 2023) – Boater Jeremy Dhom of Teutopolis, Illinois, caught a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake Shelbyville. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Illini Division. Dhom earned $4,246 for his victory.
“I drew a good number and was fortunate to get to my starting spot and caught two fish there,” said Dhom. “I bounced around and ended up having a limit by 8:30. Things were going good … I had 10 or 11 pounds on my five fish. Then I went about three hours without a tick in my line.”
Dhom said his drought continued with only one small fish to show for his efforts until late in the afternoon.
“About 1:45 I caught one that went more than 6 pounds, and that changed my day,” Dhom said. “That is a rare fish at Shelbyville. That just doesn’t happen very often. I knew I had it won after I caught that fish. It’s rare to break a 15-pound bag on Shelbyville in May.”
Dhom said he fished shallow flats offshore in his hunt for bass. He added the morning fish were in 3 to 5 feet of water, but the sun came out and his afternoon bites came in 8 to 10 feet. Dhom said he caught 25 fish during the course of the day, including eight keepers.
“I knew I had a good chance at doing well during this event,” Dhom said. “I fish up there all the time. I’ve won probably 15 to 20 team tournaments there. So, this year I said, ‘I’m going to jump up and fish the BFLs.’ And it turned out very well.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jeremy Dhom, Teutopolis, Ill., five bass, 15-2, $4,246
2nd: Joshua Tyner, Spencer, Ind., four bass, 13-15, $1,878
3rd: Ben Holmes, Altamont, Ill., five bass, 12-2, $1,253
4th: Derick Holmes, Fairfield, Ill., five bass, 11-9, $876
5th: Todd Blakeman, Chatham, Ill., five bass, 11-7, $1,721
6th: Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 9-15, $689
7th: Garrett McDowell, Windsor, Ill., four bass, 9-14, $626
8th: Corey Bohlmann, Danvers, Ill., five bass, 9-12, $563
9th: Scott Neighbors, Makanda, Ill., five bass, 9-11, $501
10th: Larry Diveley, Saint Jacob, Ill., five bass, 9-10, $438
Dhom’s 6-pound, 2-ounce bass also earned the Big Bass Boater award of $490. Tad Cain of La Place, Illinois, won the co-angler division and $2,478 Saturday, after bringing four bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Tad Cain, La Place, Ill., four bass, 12-4, $2,478
2nd: Jojo Johnson, Marion, Ill., five bass, 11-3, $1,089
3rd: Andrew Williams, Homer, Ill., four bass, 9-15, $627
4th: Jim Budde, Waterloo, Ill., four bass, 9-10, $438
5th: Lane Argo, Edinburg, Ill., five bass, 9-5, $376
6th: Evan McCormick, Edwardsville, Ill., four bass, 8-2, $344
7th: Rowdy King, Shelbyville, Ill., two bass, 7-11, $558
8th: Aaron Wehmeyer, Bloomington, Ill., four bass, 7-2, $282
9th: Richard Skiff, Edwardsville, Ill., three bass, 6-11, $250
10th: Gary Huber II, Saint Charles, Mo., four bass, 6-8, $219
Rowdy King of Shelbyville, Illinois, earned the Big Bass co-angler award of $245, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After one event, Jeremy Dhom of Teutopolis, Illinois, now leads the BFL Illini Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Tad Cain of La Place, Illinois, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 250 points.
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