Coverage: FLW Tournament at Monroe Reservoir May 14

The FLW bass fishing tournament series made a stop in Bloomington, Indiana on Saturday, May 14th.

Lake Monroe and Mother Nature conspired to make these anglers really work for their catch as unseasonable cold, wind, and morning drizzle made fishing a bit tough on the day. Turnout was good as 110 boats were registered for the tournament.

At weigh-in time only one fisherman weighed in a 5 fish limit. There were many single and double fish weigh-ins and a handful of triples and quads. Big fish on the day was awarded to Calvin Davidson from Plainfield, IN with a 6lb, 15oz. bass. His fish went for a Secret Lures Stupid Tube in the green pumpkin color.

Ken McBroom. Photo by author

Hoosier Outdoor Writers (HOW) President Ken McBroom was part of the field and weighed in one respectable fish. “It was a tough day out there with the wind and the cold temps. I was glad just to make weigh in and get my points. Now it’s just on to the next one and hope for better luck”, Ken said.

The overall winners were James (Jim) Pickett from Trafalgar, Ind. in the boater class and John Thomas from Quincy, Ind. in the co-fisherman class. Jim won with a four fish total of 14lb, 4oz. According to Jim, all his success came from fishing tubes on laydown trees, “…but, not just any laydown, they had to have a ditch or some kind of deeper water break nearby. That was the difference maker.”

Calvin Davidson has the largest fish of the tournament. Photo by author

Thomas’ luck was produced by fishing a Baby Brush Hog and spiking the tail with a garlic spike. John weighed in at 7lb, 10oz and fished along-side boater Daniel Sepeck from Cincinnatti, OH.