SHELBYVILLE, Ill. – Brad Peters of Taylorville, Ill., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Illini Division tournament on Lake Shelbyville. For his victory, Peters earned $3,592.
“I went junk fishing,” said Peters. “The lake was fishing differently than it normally does, and I couldn’t seem to put a pattern together. A lot of guys seemed to struggle. I just had to keep moving from one spot to the next. Once you caught a bass off one spot you had to keep moving. I fished about 10 different points and a couple of coves to put my sack together. I was staying on each spot about half an hour.”
Peters believes that the increased number of tournaments being held on the lake and the added pressure from the local residence really seems to impact the behavior of the fish.
“I basically fished the entire lake,” Peters went on to say. “I started on the north end of the lake then started moving south. My main baits were buzzbaits, jigs and Texas rigs.”
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
2nd: Wes Cummins, Shattuc, Ill., five bass, 12-12, $1,796
3rd: Jeremy Mull, Chatham, Ill., five bass, 12-11, $1,201
4th: Leroy McDuffie, McLeansboro, Ill., five bass, 11-9, $738 plus $1,000 Evinrude bonus
4th: Cody Salzmann, Mattoon, Ill., five bass, 11-9, $738
4th: Matt Wolfe, Collinsville, Ill., five bass, 11-9, $738
7th: Greg Harkins, Shelbyville, Ill., four bass, 11-6, $599
8th: Brad Lemasters, Springfield, Ill., three bass, 10-9, $539
9th: Toby Corn, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 10-6, $479 10th: Cory Hasler, Florissant, Mo., four bass, 9-15, $419
Shawn Hemken of Walshville, Ill., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 9 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,796 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Joshua Whitehead, East Alton, Ill., two bass, 7-6, $898
3rd: Brian Lingle, Dongola, Ill., four bass, 7-3, $598
4th: David Bunton, Iuka, Ill., four bass, 6-11, $419
5th: Chris Rush, Louisville, Ill., four bass, 6-1, $359
6th: Brett Wysock, Wilmington, Ill., three bass, 5-15, $329
7th: Jacob Collins, Hillsboro, Ill., four bass, 5-11, $284
7th: Nick Leckow, Chicago, Ill., two bass, 5-11, $284
9th: Dany Danhausen, Kankakee, Ill., two bass, 5-10, $239
10th: Brendon Delaney, Highland, Ill., three bass, 5-8, $210
The next BFL Illini Division tournament is scheduled for July 14 on the Ohio River in Golconda, Ill. After the fifth Illini Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 4-6 Regional Championship on Cherokee Lake in Morristown, Tenn. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.