Bass fishing: Amherst’s Bryan Coates reels in top prize at Wal-Mart tournament
The Chronicle-Telegram Staff
Amherst’s Bryan Coates reeled in five bass weighing 22 pounds, 14 ounces to win the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division tournament on Sandusky Bay on Saturday.
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 win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
“This is my fourth BFL win,” said Coates, in a press release from flwoutdoors.com. “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.”
According to the release, Coates’ day started off slow with no bites after almost two hours of competition. He relocated and caught three fish quickly on a 4-inch green pumpkin Berkley Gulp! Sinking Minnow. Coates later caught 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,” said Coates, who has won more than $120,000 in FLW Outdoors events. “At the time, you’re always worried.”
Rounding out the top four in the Boat Division were Todd Schmitz of Goshen, Ind. (five bass, 20-03, $1,733); Mike Crisp of Union Grove, Wisc. (five bass, 19-14, $1,155) and Brent Dunmyer of Weston, Ohio (five bass, 19-10, $809).
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.
Coates wasn’t the only local angler in the money. Avon Lake’s William Schwarz placed fourth in the Co-Angler Division with a
five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces. He pocketed $404.
Other local finishers in the Co-Angler Division were Sheffield’s Brad Rauscher Jr. (23rd), Amherst’s Randy Parker (29th) and Wellington’s Mark Saunders (54th).
Local finishers in the Boater Division were Avon Lake’s George Plevrakis (41st) and South Amherst’s Chris King (54th).
James Buhrke of Chicago earned $1,733 as the Co-Angler winner with five bass weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce caught on a drop-shot rig.
Duane Mayhew of Warsaw, Ind., earned $217 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound bass on a black leech.
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Filed by The Chronicle-Telegram Staff July 25th, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 5% |
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