Tie for Win at Bass Fishing League Tournament on Ohio River at Rocky Point

June 9, 2025
BFL News Archive

CANNELTON, Ind. (June 9, 2025) – Boaters Todd Hensley of New Albany, Indiana, and Chris Wilkinson of Farmersburg, Indiana, each caught a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to tie for the win at the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Ohio River at Rocky Point. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Hoosier Division. Hensley earned $3,416, which includes contingency prizes, while Wilkinson earned $2,916.

A couple heavy storms the day before the tournament had a big impact on both winners, muddying up waters and limiting where they could get bit.

“I didn’t fish the main Ohio River,” Hensley said. “I fished in the creeks, and I was just targeting large stumps that the bass are spawning on.”

In practice, Hensley located three creeks where he could get bit. He fished his primary area in the morning and caught all his keepers on a tube.

“After that, about noon, I went to other areas and they were just so blown out by the rain, there was just nothing to catch there,” he added. 

For Wilkinson, it was basically the same.

“Everything I was wanting to do kind of went to the wayside and muddied up,” he said. “This morning I just kind of went fishing. I went to an area where I did have one or two bites in practice, and I caught one there pretty early and just kind of stuck it out through the day.

“All my fish came off of wood, either laydowns or stumps,” he added. “I caught two early on a Hook Some Bass spinnerbait. And the rest came on a Natural Forage Flapper Hog.”

This makes 52 top-10 finishes and 11 wins for Wilkinson in a BFL career spawning two decades. 

“It took me 10 years to figure it out though,” he joked. “The first 10 didn’t count. It (winning) just makes me want to keep going for more. Whenever it’s not special is when I’ll be done. I don’t see that happening anytime in the near future.”

For Hensley, this is BFL win No. 4 and his 38th top-10 finish.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Todd Hensley, New Albany, Ind., five bass, 11-1, $3,416
1st:        Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 11-1, $2,916
3rd:       Jeffery Johnson, Austin, Ind., five bass, 9-8, $1,897 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., five bass, 9-3, $907 
5th:        Chris Leclere, Cannelton, Ind., five bass, 9-1, $778
6th:        Kenny Hornsby, Goshen, Ohio, five bass, 9-0, $713
7th:        Brandon Barker, Magnet, Ind., five bass, 8-6, $648
8th:        Stacey Edwards, Milton, Ky., five bass, 8-4, $583
9th:        Kevin Meunier, Lamar, Ind., five bass, 8-3, $519
10th:     Brad Hostetler Jr., Franklin, Ind., five bass, 8-1, $454

Jeremy Johnson of Austin, Indiana, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $525. Adam Troyer of Brownsburg, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $2,206 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished: 

1st:        Adam Troyer, Brownsburg, Ind., three bass, 7-13, $2,206
2nd:      Mason Bohland, Noblesville, Ind., three bass, 5-14, $972
3rd:       Martin Bryant, North Vernon, Ind., three bass, 5-8, $699
4th:        Aaron Powell, Leitchfield, Ky., three bass, 5-6, $454
5th:        Adam Lohr, Boonville, Ind., three bass, 5-5, $389
6th:        Daniel Fromme, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 5-0, $356
7th:        David Prater, Franklin, Ohio, three bass, 4-11, $324
8th:        Charlie Kuebler, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 4-10, $292
9th:        Stu Laughead, Vine Grove, Ky., three bass, 4-9, $243
9th:        Dan Pardue, Morgantown, Ind., three bass, 4-9, $243

Troyer also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $262, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Jamil Abdullah of Indianapolis, Indiana, now leads the Fishing Clash Hoosier Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 485 points, while Martin Bryant of North Vernon, Indiana, leads the Fishing Clash Hoosier Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 489 points.

The next event for BFL Hoosier Division anglers will be held June 28, at Lake Monroe in Bloomington, Indiana.