SHELBYVILLE, Ill. (June 20, 2016) – Donnie Dill of Dieterich, Illinois, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Illini Division tournament on Lake Shelbyville. For his victory, Dill took home $6,385.
“My first productive area was a mid-lake point in 12 to 16 feet of water,” said Dill, who notched his third win in FLW competition. “I ran to several other points, but ended up only needing three to catch the majority of my fish. I had a decent limit of bass in the boat by 11 a.m.”
Dill said he rotated between three baits throughout the event – a Redbug-colored Zoom Ol’ Monster Worm, a green-pumpkin and brown-colored Custom Craft jig and a Yo-Zuri crankbait.
“I didn’t want the fish to get accustomed to seeing one particular bait, so I rotated between them fairly evenly,” said Dill. “The fish were there, I just had to work for them. I ended up catching nine keepers. It was a great event.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Donnie Dill, Dieterich, Ill., five bass, 15-3, $4,385 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: John Wright, Windsor, Ill., five bass, 14-7, $2,193
3rd: Paul LeSaulnier, Waterloo, Ill., four bass, 14-0, $2,083
4th: Marty Sisk, Evansville, Ind., five bass, 13-10, $1,023
5th: Garrett McDowell, Mattoon, Ill., four bass, 13-9, $877
6th: Arby Tevault, Elberfeld, Ind., five bass, 12-12, $804
7th: Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., five bass, 12-10, $1,031
8th: Brian Futch, Vienna, Ill., five bass, 12-3, $621
8th: Matt Jackson, Moweaqua, Ill., four bass, 12-3, $621
10th: Patrick Odell, Windsor, Ill., five bass, 11-13, $512
LeSaulnier caught a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $620. Benton Peoples of Bardstown, Kentucky, weighed in four bass totaling 11 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,193. The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Benton Peoples, Bardstown, Ky., four bass, 11-3, $2,193
2nd: Matt Chumbler, Carbondale, Ill., four bass, 11-1, $1,096
3rd: Jacob Bovara, Wadsworth, Ill., five bass, 10-13, $730
4th: Carl Lingle, Dongola, Ill., five bass, 10-9, $512
5th: Kirk Jansen, Teutopolis, Ill., five bass, 10-6, $439
6th: Mike Swetland, Tamaroa, Ill., five bass, 9-15, $402
7th: Michael Kirkland, Ava, Ill., four bass, 9-6, $365
8th: Ryan Spencer, Tolono, Ill., five bass, 9-4, $329
9th: Jeffrey Lee, Olney, Ill., five bass, 9-2, $292
10th: Jarred Metje, Woodlawn, Ill., four bass, 8-11, $256
Tom Dorothy of Bloomington, Illinois, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $310.