Mike Pitchford Takes First at Rend Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 6/27/09. Mike from Mt. Vernon, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on Rend Lake this past weekend. Mike’s  5  bass limit weighed in at a Whopping 19.54 lbs. ( This is also the Largest bag of fish caught at a District # 68 event this year. )  Second place went to Kevin Arbaugh from Olney, IL with a weight of 9.01 lbs, third place was John Jones from Olney, IL with a weight of 6.66 lbs. John also had a very nice big bass which weighed 5.11 lbs.

These anglers are acquiring valuable points to insure their birth in division’s two-day champion and the American Fishing Tour National Championship that will be held this fall.  Their points are also being used to determine the divisional angler of the year. The top angler by points earned in this division will represent the division in the Angler of the Year final round.

Jeff Coble Captures First Place on Kerr Lake

By Joe Angelone

South Hill, VA - June 27, 2009 - Jeff Coble from Manson, NC barely edged out Brandon Gray by .42 pounds to take first place and take home a $5,000 check in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series. Jeff, who lives on Kerr and fishes it quite often, mentioned that he did not have a consistent practice and was not able to put together a solid pattern. He started the day fishing deeper water, thinking that with the 84 degree water temp, the fish would be on deeper structure. By 10 in the morning he only had 2 fish in the boat. He then made the decision to move a little shallower in 6 to 10 feet of water, and was able to get four more bites, which proved to be the difference in the tournament. Jeff has been fishing tournaments for 29 years and enjoys it very much. His winning weight was 13.60 lbs. By supporting our sponsors, Jeff will also receive cash bonuses from Mercury and MotorGuide.