SHELBYVILLE, Ill. (Sept. 15, 2014) – George Taylor of Dresden, Tenn., weighed a two-day total of five bass totaling 20 pounds, 14 ounces to win the Bass Fishing League Illini Division super tournament on Lake Shelbyville Sunday. For his victory, Taylor earned $4,943.
“I caught them on jigs, just one here and one there,” Taylor said of the tournament-best 20-pound, 14-ounce limit he landed on day one. “I caught two in one creek and three in another. I wasn’t even doing that well in practice and I didn’t have any kind of pattern.
“I caught one in practice that was about 5 pounds, and I think I caught that exact same fish in the tournament,” Taylor continued. “I pitched my jig into the exact same place and caught one that weighed 5-10.
“They just shut down on me on Sunday,” said Taylor. “I never even had a keeper-sized fish on. Going back to the weigh-in, I never thought I’d win without weighing a fish.
“It looks funny to weigh in that kind of weight on one day and zero the next, but I don’t know how to explain it,” finished Taylor. “I’ve never done well up on Lake Shelbyville, so this is just a blessing.”
Taylor said he caught all his fish on a Candy Craw-colored ½-ounce Strike King jig. Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Toby Corn, West Frankfort, Ill., nine bass, 17-7, $2,471
3rd: Travis Boley, Weldon, Ill., seven bass, 15-2, $1,648
4th: Neil McCord, West Frankfort, Ill., four bass, 15-1, $1,153
5th: Leroy McDuffie, McLeansboro, Ill., eight bass, 14-7, $989
6th: Ryan Deal, Haubstadt, Ind., eight bass, 13-10, $906
7th: Marion Cordes, Sullivan, Ill., eight bass, 12-15, $824
8th: Robert Atchison, Whittington, Ill., five bass, 11-5, $741
9th: Bobby McMullin, Pevely, Mo., seven bass, 11-4, $659
10th: Luke Budde, Waterloo, Ill., five bass, 10-5, $577
Dusty Lepere of Dupo, Ill., weighed in a two-day total of four bass totaling 14 pounds, 7 ounces to win $2,471 in the co-angler division Sunday.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Aaron Wehmeyer, Odell, Ill., six bass, 9-14, $1,236
3rd: Chuck Teegardin, St. Louis, Mo., five bass, 9-9, $822
4th: J.D. Walker, Noble, Ill., two bass, 8-11, $577
5th: Chad Hess, Scheller, Ill., three bass, 7-7, $494
6th: Andy Paschedag, Edwardsville, Ill., three bass, 7-2, $453
7th: Sheldon Ayers, Anna, Ill., four bass, 6-11, $412
8th: Levi Shaw, Opdyke, Ill., three bass, 5-5, $371
9th: John Morales, Tinley Park, Ill., three bass, 5-3, $330
10th: Aaron Arning, Walnut Hill, Ill., three bass, 5-1, $288
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 16-18 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.