Houston Stands Tall on Ohio River

9/30/2014

For his victory, Houston earned $5,077.

"I stayed in one creek the whole time," said Houston, who earned the first BFL win of his career. "I caught all my fish from two key banks. The first day they were eating spinnerbaits and crankbaits. The second day I started out with spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but they didn’t want them. So, I picked up my flippin’ stick and a green pumpkin-colored tube and started flipping laydowns, or anything that would hold fish on those same banks. That’s how I caught them on day two."

Houston said that the spinnerbait he threw was made by War Eagle and that his tube was made by Strike King, but declined to elaborate about his crankbait. He said that the key to his productive areas was finding larger shad than were present in the rest of the creek.

"Heading back to weigh-in on day two I was feeling pretty good," said Houston about his tournament-best 10-pound, 7-ounce limit. "I caught a 3-pounder and a 4-pounder to start the day. I knew after I filled out my limit that those other boys would have to whack them. It feels great to win. I’ve been close before, but this is a lot better than second."

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

2nd: Todd Hensley, New Albany, Ind., nine bass, 13-12, $2,539

3rd: Thomas Foster, Terre Haute, Ind., 10 bass, 13-9, $1,694

4th: Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 13-7, $1,185

5th: Craig Mills, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 12-3, $1,015

6th: James Pickett, Trafalgar, Ind., nine bass, 11-13, $931

7th: Larry Dowell, Louisville, Ky., seven bass, 10-12, $846

8th: Ken Garbe, Loveland, Ohio, 10 bass, 10-11, $762

9th: Lincoln Bowen, Crothersville, Ind., seven bass, 10-10, $677

10th: Dan Pardue, Morgantown, Ind., eight bass, 9-6, $592

Complete results can be found by clicking here.

Hoffman wins co-angler title

Gary Hoffman of Stoutsville, Ohio, weighed in a two-day total of five bass totaling 9 pounds, 4 ounces to win $2,532 in the co-angler division Sunday.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

2nd: Gerald Shaw, Pendleton, Ind., six bass, 8-10, $1,266

3rd: Mark Dehart, Brownstown, Ind., five bass, 8-6, $846

4th: Brandon Knapmeyer, Florence, Ky., six bass, 8-4, $591

5th: Jared Robinson, Vallonia, Ind., seven bass, 8-2, $506

6th: Matt Orschell, Lawrenceburg, Ind., seven bass, 8-1, $464

7th: Charlie Kuebler, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 6-1, $422

8th: James Mullanix, Anderson, Ind., four bass, 5-12, $380

9th: Dylan Christenberry, Spencer, Ind., four bass, 5-5, $338

10th: Joshua Jenkins, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 5-4, $295

Complete co-angler results can be found by clicking here.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. 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.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.