Boater Jerry Kotal of Elberton, Ga., caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win $4,763 in the BFL Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Russell. Kotal was trying to chase the wind, fishing on secondary points using spinnerbaits to land his sack.
Rounding out the top 10 in the Boater Division:
2nd: James Edwards, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 15-12, $2,381
3rd: A.C. Campbell, Mineral Springs, Pa., five bass, 14-10, $1,585
4th: Daniel Roberts, Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 14-6, $1,111
5th: Mike Winchester, Bryson City, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $953
6th: Cason Nickles, Due West, S.C., five bass, 13-4, $833
6th: Danny Whaley, Due West, S.C., four bass, 13-4, $833
8th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., five bass, 12-7, $714
9th: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 12-6, $635
10th: Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., five bass, 11-14, $528
10th: Craig Johnson, Martinez, Ga., five bass, 11-14, $528
Adams winning co-angler
Dickson Adams of Flowery Branch, Ga., caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces to win $2,381 in the Co-angler Division on Lake Russell. Adams was fishing shallow water in front of the dam, using jerkbaits and shaky heads to bring in his limit.
Rounding out the top 10 in the Co-angler Division:
2nd: Mike Harris, Fairview, N.C., five bass, 11-7, $1,191
3rd: Daniel Surett, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 11-3, $791
4th: Zach Hyder, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 10-9, $556
5th: Johnny Hancox, West Union, S.C., five bass, 10-5, $476
6th: Glenn Browning, Jr., Canton, N.C., four bass, 9-14, $437
7th: Dennis Blackwell, Lyman, S.C., five bass, 9-12, $397
8th: Chase Stewart, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 9-11, $357
9th: Chris Threlkeld, Elberton, Ga., five bass, 9-9, $318
10th: Vince Smith, Westminster, S.C., five bass, 9-8, $278
Coming up
The next BFL Savannah River Division tournament is scheduled for May 8 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S.C. After the fifth Savannah River Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Sept. 25-26 Regional Championship at Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Ga., where boaters will compete for a Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and a Chevy pick-up, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger 198VX.