Shipshewana's Hochstetler Wins Phoenix Bass League Event on Lake St. Clair

Details


FLW Report

Shipshewana's Hochstetler Wins Phoenix Bass League Event on Lake St. ClairShipshewana's Hochstetler Wins Phoenix Bass League Event on Lake St. Clair

Boater Ryan Hochstetler of Shipshewana, Ind. brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event at Lake St. Clair.

Hochstetler earned a total of $6,972.

The tournament was the first of five events in the Michigan Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.

"I was fishing in Anchor Bay, north of the North Channel," said Hochstetler, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. "I was fishing a shallow weedline in 4- to 6-feet of water."

Hochstetler said that his key baits were a Duo Realis Spybait and a drop-shot rig with a Duo Realis V-tailshad.

"I found these fish two weeks ago, and they stayed there along with the bait," Hochstetler went on to say. "I put in a lot of hard work for this, so winning feels really good."

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

  • 1st: Ryan Hochstetler of Shipshewana, Ind., five bass, 22-9, $6,972
  • 2nd: Dawson Johnson of Luck, Wis., five bass, 21-14, $2,236
  • 3rd: Mike Raber of Wolcottville, Ind., five bass, 21-8, $1,492
  • 4th: Mark Modrak of China Township, Mich., five bass, 21-6, $1,043
  • 5th: Hayden Scott of Ann Arbor, Mich., five bass, 21-3, $894
  • 6th: Troy Stokes of Brownstown, Mich., five bass, 20-13, $8207th: Beau Bickford of Findlay, Ohio, five bass, 20-9, $708
  • 7th: Tim Gillies of Union City, Mich., five bass, 20-9, $708
  • 9th: Tom Beale of St. Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $596
  • 10th: Tony Mitchell of Plainwell, Mich., five bass, 20-3, $496
  • 10th: Russel Buffa of Fenton, Mich., five bass, 20-3, $496

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

  • 1st: Nicholas Ireland of Davison, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $2,571
  • 2nd: Joseph Sittler of Fort Wayne, Ind., five bass, 20-6, $1,125
  • 3rd: Scott Lutz of Bremen, Ind., five bass, 19-7, $752
  • 4th: Calvin Fitch of Kokomo, Ind., five bass, 19-4, $525
  • 5th: Trent Norman of Union, Ky., five bass, 19-3, $450
  • 6th: Kendra Mueller of Pinckney, Mich., five bass, 18-4, $393
  • 6th: Tony Grubb of Ann Arbor, Mich., five bass, 18-4, $393
  • 8th: Nicholas Veselka of Fishers, Ind., five bass, 17-15, $337
  • 9th: Evan Ellis of Greentown, Ind., five bass, 17-13, $300
  • 10th: Logan Roller of Tremont, Ill., five bass, 17-10, $262

Ireland also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch added to his winnings as he earned the dayís Co-angler Big Bass award of $322.

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.