Findlay, Ohio, angler rebounds from a difficult practice session to claim victory by combining a productive Detroit River pattern with a late move to Lake St. Clair, while his boat sweeps both angler divisions and Big Bass honors.
Wilson Burton of Findlay, Ohio, overcame a frustrating practice period to capture the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine event on the Detroit River, weighing a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 4 ounces to earn the victory.
The tournament marked the second of five events in the BFL Michigan Division Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Company and the opening event of a back-to-back tournament weekend on the Detroit River. Burton earned $3,450 for the win and added another accolade by claiming the Berkley Big Bass Boater Award with a 5-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth bass.
For Burton, the victory came after one of the toughest practice sessions he could remember.
"I went out in practice on Lake Erie, and it's not like me to get skunked, but I did not catch a fish on Lake Erie in 10 hours," Burton said.
Rather than forcing a pattern that wasn't working, Burton shifted his attention during the final practice day to Lake St. Clair, where he quickly located a strong concentration of smallmouth bass.
"Friday during practice I went to St. Clair and found a pretty good wad of them up there," he explained.
That discovery ultimately became the key to his tournament strategy.
A Two-Water Winning Game Plan
On tournament morning, Burton began by fishing his established locations in the Detroit River, quickly assembling a five-fish limit before making the move north to Lake St. Clair.
The adjustment allowed him to steadily upgrade his catch throughout the day.
"I started out in the River and fished my river stuff and had a limit," Burton said. "Then I went up to St. Clair culled out three or four fish, and it worked out pretty good for me. There are a lot of fish up there right now."
The combination of an early limit and timely upgrades proved to be the winning formula, enabling Burton to edge the competition with more than 22 pounds of smallmouth.
Burning a Crankbait for Aggressive Smallmouth
Burton credited much of his success to a Berkley Dredger 17.5 Crankbait, which he retrieved aggressively through the water column to trigger reaction strikes from active fish.
Although he missed several opportunities during competition, the crankbait consistently produced quality bites.
"I caught around 30 smallmouth during the tournament," Burton said.
The abundance of fish wasn't limited to tournament day. Burton described practice as one of the most productive he had experienced after locating the right area.
"I caught 100 during practice," he said. "It was stupid."
A Surprise Victory
Despite bringing a strong limit to the scales, Burton admitted he never believed his catch would be enough to win.
His personal scale estimated his bag at 21 pounds, 12 ounces, leading him to believe other competitors would likely surpass that mark.
"My scale read 21-12, and I thought, 'Man, if I'm catching them people are probably just wearing them out,'" Burton said. "I was thinking sixth or seventh place. I kept fishing the whole day."
Instead, his official weight of 22 pounds, 4 ounces topped the field and secured the tournament title.
A Memorable Day for the Entire Boat
Adding to the celebration, Burton's co-angler also enjoyed a standout performance.
Michigan's Beach captured the co-angler division victory and earned the Big Bass Award in the co-angler competition, giving both anglers in the boat a clean sweep of the day's top honors.
"This feels great," Burton said. "I don't catch big fish. I'm always catching 3½- to 4½-pounders. I don't get to weigh in a big fish. And the cool thing about today was my co-angler won the co-angler side and won big bass. We kind of cleaned the house in the boat today."
The victory marked a rewarding turnaround for Burton after a difficult start to practice and highlighted the importance of adapting to changing conditions. By abandoning an unproductive pattern on Lake Erie, trusting his instincts on Lake St. Clair, and capitalizing on an aggressive crankbait bite, Burton assembled one of the tournament's strongest smallmouth limits and claimed the Detroit River BFL title.
