A trio of veteran boaters and a pair of Lewistown co-anglers from the Lima area have qualified for the James River Regional bass tournament of Major League Fishing’s (MLF) Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) set for Oct. 20-22 in Richmond, Virginia.
This became fact following a two-day tourney in Cortland last weekend on Mosquito Lake.
Long-time basser Dick Shaffer of Rockford and veterans Kyle Weisenburger of Columbus Grove and Bob Lane of Waynesfield placed in the top 45 of the Buckeye Division’s boater category to advance to the regionals. Once again, Shaffer also qualified for regional competition by finishing among the top 45 in the Hoosier Division of the BFL. Newcomer Jacob Alltop qualified for his first ever regional competition while this will be veteran Bryan Hofstetter’s second regional.
Shaffer qualified for the Mississippi River Regional in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Oct. 13-15 through the Hoosier Division. Last year, he also fished in the Wheeler Lake Regional in Decatur, Alabama, by qualifying in the Hoosier Division.
The top six boaters and co-anglers from six regionals and the Wild Card advance to the 2023 All-American.
Shaffer, who finished seventh in the points standings in the Hoosier Division and 17th in the Buckeye Division, has qualified for six All American National Championships and was runner-up in 2009 on the Potomac River. He has qualified for numerous regionals during his four-decade career. He was unavailable for comment.
Weisenburger, who finished sixth in the points standings, has qualified for the regionals ever since he became a boater in the Buckeye Division in 2010. He has qualified for a pair of All-American Championships and was fifth in the event on Barkley Lake in Kentucky in 2016. His best finish on the MLF Toyota Series Pro Circuit came on the James River in June.
“I am hoping the James River treats me well. I am very optimistic about getting back there and trying to win that event and make it back to the All- American,” Weisenburger said.
Lane qualified for regional competition a year ago, but a bad lower unit prohibited him from fishing the regional. He has qualified for regional competition five times.
“I am happy to have qualified and have had no problems so far. I’m looking forward to fishing the James. I have never been there so I have to try and figure something out when I get there,” Lane said.
On the co-angler side, Alltop was a big hit in his first full year of competition. He wound up second in the co-angler points standings with 1,301, not far behind leader Matt Fisher, who had 1,310 points.
“I’m very happy with how the season has gone and excited to get to experience a regional tournament and fish the James River. I’ve heard there’s a lot of big fish there and some good scenery,” he said.
Hofstetter wound up in 21st place and was consistent through the season.
“I’m excited to learn about the tidal fishing and perhaps being on a better fishery where you can find bass up to eight pounds or more is definitely different than fishing in Ohio,” he said. “I will try to put down a plan with a high percentage of success at the James and get back to basics.”
As for results from the two-day Mosquito tourney, three Lima area bassers finished in the top 10. Gary Ginter of Bellefountaine was runner-up in the boater division while Weisenburger was 10th in the boater category while Alltop was third in the co-angler category.
Ginter had a total weight of 32 pounds, 10 ounces, on a pair of five-bass limits. His weight the first day was 17 pounds while his weight on the second day was 14 pounds, 10 ounces. Ginter has qualified for eight regionals, but did not fish the full Buckeye Division slate this summer.
“I had a great practice. I was fishing deep back into the lilly pads using creature baits. The first day we had full sun, which is great for pad fishing. The second day we had rain most of the day and the pad fish just didn’t bite,” he said. “About 1 p.m., the rain quit and the sky lightened up and the pad fish started feeding again. I had to be back at the ramp at 3 p.m. so I only had a small window of time to get bites. I needed another hour, and I think I may have been able to get the win.”
Weisenburger weighed in 27 pounds, 14 ounces, on a pair of five-bass limits, He weighed in 12 pounds, 6 ounces, on the first day and 15 pounds, 8 ounces, on the second day.
Shaffer and Lane did not qualify to fish the second day. The top 20 advanced to the second day of fishing. Shaffer finished 48th with five bass that weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce, while Lane was 71st with four bass that weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces.
In the co-angler category, Alltop weighed in 21 pounds, 8 ounces, on a pair of five-bass limits. He weighed in 12 pounds, 1 ounce, on the first day and weighed in 9 pounds, 7 ounces, on the second day. Hofstetter placed 20th in the co-angler category with six bass that weighed 11 pounds, 11 ounces. He had four bass that weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces, on the first day and two bass that weighed 2 pounds, 15 ounces, on the second day.
Matt Elkins of Spencerville, Zach Maisch,of Lima and Wilson Burton, of Findlay likely will qualify for the Mississippi regional following the Michigan Division two-day season-ending tourney Sept. 24-25 on the Detroit River out of Trenton.
Al Smith is a freelance outdoor writer. You may contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @alsmithFL
