ARNING WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE ILLINI DIVISION EVENT ON REND LAKE PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

WHITTINGTON, Ill. (July 20, 2015) – Ray Arning Jr. of Walnut Hill, Illinois, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Illini Division tournament on Rend Lake presented by Navionics. For his victory, Arning earned $5,804.

“It was one of those hot, tough days of fishing,” said Arning, who earned the fifth BFL win of his career. “I don’t think the wind blew once in eight hours.”

Arning said he targeted one location for the entire day – a 60-yard area on the north end of the lake.

“The bass were feeding on big shad in the open water,” said Arning. “Occasionally they would come to a creek ditch where I would catch them. I would leave them alone for a half hour, return and try again.

“I used a Junebug-colored Zoom Fork Tail worm,” continued Arning. “It’s not a bait you hear about often but I’ve consistently won money with them.”

Arning said he caught four keepers before 11 a.m., with his final two fish biting after noon.

“It was one of those days that tested patience,” said Arning. “It was nice to see it pay off.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Ray Arning Jr., Walnut Hill, Ill., five bass, 13-5, $3,804 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Keith Nemcek, Saint Charles, Ill., four bass, 13-0, $1,902

3^rd:          Neil McCord, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 12-6, $1,267

4^th:          Leroy McDuffie, McLeansboro, Ill., five bass, 11-7, $888

5^th:          Dennis Berhorst, Holts Summit, Mo., three bass, 10-7, $761

6^th:          Robert Atchison, Whittington, Ill., four bass, 8-6, $697

7^th:          Mike Barnes, Mackinaw, Ill., three bass, 8-2, $634

8^th:          Jerry Walker, Zeigler, Ill., three bass, 7-15, $571

9^th:          Delmar Burlison, Goreville, Ill., three bass, 7-3, $507

10^th:        Nick Shafer, Benton, Ill., three bass, 6-13, $444

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Berhorst caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $505.

Greg Templeton of Pinckneyville, Illinois, weighed in five bass totaling 10 pounds even Saturday to win $1,902 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Greg Templeton, Pinckneyville, Ill., five bass, 10-0, $1,902

2^nd:         Mario Rossi, Granite City, Ill., three bass, 7-5, $951

3^rd:          Levi Shaw, Opdyke, Ill., three bass, 6-13, $634

4^th:          Lance Dasenbrock, Effingham, Ill., three bass, 6-0, $444

5^th:          Dave Dobill, Royalton, Ill., two bass, 5-14, $380

6^th:          Ovidiu Marginean, Des Plaines, Ill., two bass, 5-10, $349

7^th:          Brad Kleiboeker, Carlyle, Ill., one bass, 5-1, $317

8^th:          Mike Jackson, Moweaqua, Ill., two bass, 4-15, $285

9^th:          Steve Kehrer, Woodlawn, Ill., two bass, 4-13, $254

10^th:        Mike Swetland, Tamaroa, Ill., one bass, 4-10, $222

Kleiboeker caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $252.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, 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 50 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.