SPRING CITY, Tenn. – Rookie, Daniel Baumann, 39, of Huntsville, Ala., out fished 134 competitors Saturday to earn $4,614 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail Choo Choo Division opener on Watts Bar Lake.
Baumann, a massage therapist fishing his first Red Man tournament, caught five largemouth bass weighing 12 pounds during the one-day event to top Sonny Lee of Knoxville, Tenn., who finished with a five-bass catch of 11-9 worth $2,307. Baumann caught his limit fishing shallow banks littered with rocks and wood above the Kingston River using a chartreuse and blue crankbait.
Paul Redwine of Crab Orchard, Tenn., took third place and collected $1,154 for five bass weighing 11-0. Carlton Post of Friendsville, Tenn., placed fourth and earned $1,000 for five bass weighing 10-13, while Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., placed fifth and earned $923 for five bass weighing 10-11.
Randy Verboon, 35, of Harvest, Ala., won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $675 in the Boater Division for a 6-3 largemouth he caught on a chartreuse jerkbait.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,307 went to Rusty Elmore of Danville, Ky., for five bass weighing 11-13. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,154 went to Russ Ritter of Lexington, Ala., for five bass weighing 9-12, while Chuck Brady of Talladega, Ala., took third place and $577 with three bass weighing 8-8.
John DeBakker, 52, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $337 for a 6-pound, 1-ounce largemouth he caught off a flat in the Kingston River on a chartreuse crankbait.
Kevin Powers of Unicoi, Tenn., won the Berkley Power Bait award, a package of baits valued at $200, for the heaviest overall catch on Power Bait or Frenzy lures in either division. He caught four bass weighing 4-10.
On April 15, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit Lake Neely Henry for the second of five events in the Choo Choo Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 16-17 on Guntersville Lake, is declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season receives $500.
The trail’s championship event, the Red Man All-American, awards $100,000 to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler. The highest placing CITGO Divisional Points Champion at the All-American receives $10,000 in the Boater Division and $2,500 in the Co-Angler Division. Overall, more than $5.7 million could be awarded in 2000 based on full fields in each of the series’ 119 events nationwide.