Somerset teen wins Co-Angler Division
GLASGOW, Ky. – Bob Johnson, 54, of Cecilia, Ky., outpaced 133 competitors Saturday with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 11 ounces to win $4,546 and 200 points on the boater side of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River.
Johnson edged out Chris Abney of Winchester, Ky., by 9 ounces in the one-day event that set out from Barren River State Park. Abney finished with a five-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces to win $2,273. He also won $500 from Ranger Boats as the highest finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.
Johnson caught his limit on the warm, rainy day using a Carolina rig around rock and wood cover in coves with 6-to 8-foot drops.
Johnny Crase of Lexington, Ky., took third place and collected $1,136 with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce. Keith Sickler of Cincinnati, Ohio, placed fourth and earned $985 with four bass weighing 14 pounds, while Mike Devere of Berea, Ky., placed fifth and earned $909 with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces.
Sickler won the boater Big Bass Award and collected $665 with a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass that he caught on a Carolina-rigged brush hog.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,154 went to Barrett Moss, 17, of Somerset, Ky., who topped 123 competitors with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces. Second place in the division and $1,077 went to Andy Holstein of Cincinnati with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces, while Gary Stamper of Grayson, Ky., took third place and $539 with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces.
Sam Loveless of Somerset and Tim Reagan of Byrdstown, Tenn., tied for the co-angler Big Bass Award. Each man received $153 for his 4-pound, 12-ounce bass.
Overall, 465 bass were caught during the tournament, including 24 five-bass limits.
The BFL will visit Douglas Lake for the fourth of five events in the Mountain Division. The boater with the most points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 22-23 on Lake Cumberland, will be declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.
The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers in the Mountain Division will advance to regional competition Oct. 23-27 on Wateree Lake near Camden, S.C., where they will go up against top competitors from the Bulldog, Bama and Gator divisions for a shot at qualifying for the $250,000 All-American.
Awards for the 2001 BFL season could reach $5.7 million based on full fields at each tournament.