Shaffer said he used a homemade black-and-blue jig to target deep water 2 to 4 feet from bushes.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Randall Osborne of Mount Sterling, Ky. (five bass, 11-9, $1,820); Eric Snow of Clarksville, Ind. (five bass, 11-5, $1,214); Leroy McGregor of Vincennes, Ind. (three bass, 10-15, $850) and John Sherrill of Franklin, Ind. (four bass, 10-7, $728).

McGregor took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $475 for a 6-pound bass he caught.
                                                 
Erich Hartman of Lebanon, Ind., earned $1,820 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 6 ounces that he caught flipping brush.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are John Thomas of New Palestine, Ind. (three bass, 8-15, $910); Jim Anderson of Troy, Ind. (3 bass, 7-7, $607); William Spivey of Middletown, Ohio (two bass, 7-5, $425); and Jeff Church of Fort Branch, Ind. (two bass, 6-13, $364).

Jim Krider of North Vernon, Ind., earned $237as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass.

The next Hoosier Division event will be held on Tanners Creek in Lawrenceburg, Ind., June 27.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.

The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee $2.5 million Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing. In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships with total cash awards exceeding $3.5 million. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series™ for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart FLW Tour®.

In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament circuit.

Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.