Waynesfield’s Bob Logan with his Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament championship trophy.
Courtesy of Major League Fishing
Bob Logan made patience pay off last Saturday as he won the third Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament of his career.
The Waynesfield angler made everyone of his bites count as he caught four bass that weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces to win the boater category of the Buckeye Division on the Ohio River out of Tanner’s Creek in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
Logan, who said he did not have a great practice round, found a creek that produced his winning fish.
“I found some clean water in one creek (Hogan Creek) where I got a few bites and committed to fishing it,” he said. “I didn’t really get a good bite until about 9:30. I stayed in Hogan Creek all day flipping wood and stumps in the creek channel.”
Logan said the water was up, and the fish were holding on wood shallow near the bank. He relied on a Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver to entice the few strikes he could during the tournament.
“Fishing was really tough,” he said. “I only had four bites. I didn’t even have a lot of short fish. Everybody struggled. Patience is a must on the Ohio.”
The win boosted Lane into the top 10 of the boater points standings. He sits in sixth place through four tourneys after being 17th through three events.
Two other Lima area bassers are among the top 15 in the points season.
Kyle Weisenburger of Columbus Grove is 13th after finishing ninth on the Ohio with three bass that weighed 4 pounds, 14 ounces. Dick Shaffer of Rockford is 15th after he placed 37th on the Ohio with two bass that weighed 2 pounds, 5 ounces.
On the co-angler side, Jacob Alltop of Lewiston finished outside the top 20 for the first time this season. He placed 34th with one bass that weighed 1 pound, 3 ounces. He fell from first place in the standings to third. Brian Zeinskas, who won the co-angler event, moved into first in the points standings.
Bryan Hofstetter, also of Lewistown, is 36th in the points standings. He failed to weigh in a bass in the tourney.
The fishing was so tough that 52 of the participants in the boater division did not weigh in a bass and 77 participants in the co-angler division did not weigh in a bass.
The final event in the Buckeye Division will be a two-day tourney Sept. 10-11 at Mosquito Lake.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional championships where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in competitive bass fishing — the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.
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Landowners interested in improving their land management and habitat for wild turkeys can learn more about these subjects during a Ohio Woodlands Stewarts Program workshop hosted by Ohio State University on Aug. 30.
The program is part of the OSU Extension and will be held from 5-8 p.m. at the Athens Community Center, located at 701 East State St., in Athens. Cost of the workshop is $15 and includes dinner. Wildlife professionals will discuss turkey habitat needs and land management. Participants are asked to register by Tuesday at go.osu.edu/turkey4landowners.
Attendees will spend time outdoors evaluating examples of quality turkey habitat.
Turkeys rely on a variety of habitat components, including woodlands, brush and open areas, where they feed on forbs, grasses, insects, nuts and seeds. According to wildlife biologists, turkeys are a vital part of Ohio forest ecosystems.
Questions on the wild turkey habitat workshop can be directed to the Ohio Woodlands Stewards Program, 614-688-3421 or [email protected]. The event is made possible with funding from the Division of Wildlife and the Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab of Ohio State University’s School of Environment and Natural Resources. Additional partners include the Division of Forestry, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and National Wild Turkey Federation.
Al Smith is a freelance outdoor writer. You may contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @alsmithFL
