BIRDSEYE, Ind. (May 18, 2026) – Boater Frank McClain of Scottsburg, Indiana, caught a total of five bass weighing 19 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake Patoka. The tournament was the second of five events of the season for the BFL Hoosier Division. For his victory, McClain earned the top payout of $4,000.
McClain used a two-part pattern to earn the victory at Lake Patoka, capitalizing on an early-morning shad spawn before moving upriver later in the day to finish out his limit. Targeting main-lake points during the morning hours, McClain relied heavily on topwater presentations to trigger feeding fish.
“There was a good shad spawn going on, and it was mostly topwater bites,” McClain said.
Throwing a Evergreen SB-style topwater bait along with a jerkbait, McClain focused on productive points until the morning bite faded around 10 a.m. After that, he made a move upriver where he switched gears and flipped shallow cover to add key fish to his total.
“I went up the river and was able to flip and catch a couple more keepers,” he said. “I ended up catching eight keepers today and luckily culled out a couple of small ones.”
McClain credited both timing and local knowledge for helping him put together the winning pattern.
“A little luck finding some good points and a good shad spawn,” he said. “And I know the lake pretty good up the river, and I had some good spots where I knew I could pick up some good fish.”
The victory marked the ninth BFL win of McClain’s career.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., five bass, 19-11, $4,000
2nd: Richard Ison, North Vernon, Ind., five bass, 18-12, $2,500 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
3rd: Blake Knies, Jasper, Ind., five bass, 17-14, $1,100
4th: Patrick Myers, Lebanon, Ind., five bass, 17-8, $800
5th: Chris Myers, Madison, Ind., five bass, 17-6, $700
6th: Rich Fye, Galveston, Ind., four bass, 16-14, $787
6th: Scott Sledge, Greenwood, Ind., five bass, 16-14, $587
8th: Randy French, Laurel, Ind., five bass, 16-9, $550
9th: Dave Tinsman, Losantville, Ind., five bass, 16-1, $775
10th: Nick Uebelhor, Jasper, Ind., five bass, 15-13, $500
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Rich Fye of Galveston, Indiana, earned the Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass, worth $200. Greenwood, Indiana’s Brennan McDougal won the co-angler division at Lake Patoka on Saturday with a three-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 8 ounces. For his victory, McDougal brought home the top co-angler prize of $2,000.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Brennan McDougal, Greenwood, Ind., three bass, 11-8, $2,000
2nd: Ben Gilbert, Mooresville, Ind., three bass, 11-5, $1,000
3rd: Tony Burke, Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 11-4, $550
4th: Brian Ferguson, Louisville, Ky., three bass, 10-15, $500
5th: David Prater, Franklin, Ohio, three bass, 10-8, $350
6th: Jericho Laney, Greenwood, Ind., three bass, 10-4, $300
7th: Yaounde Howard, Bolingbrook, Ill., three bass, 10-3, $282
7th: Nathaniel Hester, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 10-3, $282
9th: Josh Weber, West Harrison, Ind., three bass, 10-1, $260
10th: Derrik Cornett, Scottsburg, Ind., two bass, 9-8, $250
Rich Fye of Galveston, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass worth $200.
After two events, Blake Knies of Jasper, Indiana, now leads the 7 Brew Hoosier Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 496 points, while Derrik Cornett of Scottsburg, Indiana, leads the Hoosier Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 491 points.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-patoka-51926.html
Bass Fishing League (BFL) News