MATUAL WINS RAYOVAC FLW SERIES NORTHERN DIVISION FINALE ON LAKE ERIE PRESENTED BY EVINRUDE

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SANDUSKY, Ohio (Aug. 29, 2015) – David Matual of Chicago, Illinois, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division finale on Lake Erie presented by Evinrude with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 65 pounds even. For his win, Matual earned $31,229.

“I’m shaking, I don’t think the win has set in yet,” said Matual, who earned his first career win as a boater in Rayovac FLW Series competition. “I had a tough practice so I didn’t know what to expect. The cold weather had dropped the surface temperature of the water nearly eight degrees during the week.”

Despite the difficult practice, Matual said he was able to dial in on bass that were chasing baitfish within a 100-foot stretch of reef just south of Pelee Point.

“I went to that area and had a five-bass limit within 30 minutes each day,” said Matual. “I was dropping-shotting a Jackall Crosstail Shad in a variety of colors. If that missed, I used a green-pumpkin-colored Chompers Tube. The bass were so aggressive I could see them breaking the top of the water going after baitfish. I figured they would bite any lure I threw down there.”

Matual said he caught approximately 55 keepers, in around 15 to 18 of water, over the course of the tournament.

“I was all alone in my area,” said Matual. “No one else was fishing around me. It was the perfect storm.”

The top 10 pros on Lake Erie were:

1^st:          David Matual, Chicago, Ill., 15 bass, 65-0, $31,229

2^nd:         Jared Rhode, Port Clinton, Ohio, 15 bass, 64-9, $12,101

3^rd:          Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 15 bass, 64-8, $9,369

               4^th:          Trevor Jancasz, White Pigeon, Mich., 15 bass, 62-1, $7,807

               5^th:          Matt Vermilyea, Perrysburg, Ohio, 15 bass, 61-2, $7,027

               6^th:          Matt Elkins, Spencerville, Ohio, 15 bass, 60-5, $6,246

               7^th:          Joe Balog, Harrison Township, Mich., 15 bass, 58-5, $5,465

               8^th:          Jeff Vizachero, Grosse Ile, Mich., 15 bass, 53-6, $4,684

               9^th:          Michael Sitko, Pinckney, Mich., 14 bass, 48-4, $3,904

               10^th:        Mike Oberski, Ann Arbor, 12 bass, 42-9, $3,123

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Mike Moran of Ruffs Dale, Pennsylvania, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday, weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $198.

Justin Hicks of Roanoke, Virginia, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117C with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 59 pounds, 11 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Erie were:

               1^st:          Justin Hicks, Roanoke, Virginia, 15 Bass, 59-11, Ranger Z117C w/ 90-horsepower outboard

               2^nd:         Rick Harkness, Saint Marys, W. Va., 15 bass, 57-15, $3,949

               3^rd:          Wayne Nelson, Caistor Centre, Ontario, 15 bass, 54-3, $3,160

               4^th:          Arnold Payne Jr., Kokomo, Ind., 15 bass, 53-12, $2,765

               5^th:          Dennis Blakely, Norwalk, Ohio, 15 bass, 52-13, $2,370

               6^th:          Keith Sensenig, Jane Lew, W. Va., 15 bass, 48-1, $1,975

               7^th:          Brian Ruetz, Toledo, Ohio, 13 bass, 45-10, $1,580

               8^th:          Brian Kich, Berea, Ohio, 13 bass, 45-2, $1,382

               9^th:          Vickie Maisch-Rumer, Lima, Ohio, 12 bass, 41-3, $1,185

               10^th:        Bryan Sisk, Glenelg, Md., 12 bass, 40-6, $987

The Rayovac FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the no-entry-fee Rayovac FLW Series Championship. The 2015 Rayovac FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 29-31 on the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky.

The Rayovac FLW Series on Lake Erie was presented by Evinrude and was the third and final Northern Division tournament of 2015. The next Rayovac FLW Series tournament will be a Western Division event, held Sept. 24-26, on Clear Lake in Lakeport, Calif. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.