BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Bill McDonald, 40, of Indianapolis out-fished 112 competitors Saturday to earn $4,029 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Hoosier Division event on Monroe Lake.
McDonald caught three largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Gary Rogers of Heltonville, Ind., who finished with a four-bass catch of 12-9 worth $2,014. McDonald caught his bass on a jig with a pork trailer while fishing stumps near the middle fork of Lake Monroe.
George Jones of Cincinnati took third place and collected $1,007 with four bass weighing 11-13. Loyd Mcentire of Indianapolis placed fourth and earned $873 with three bass weighing 11-10, while Steve Hinesley of Farmersburg, Ind., placed fifth and earned $806 with three bass weighing 11-1.
Mike Seal, a 40-year-old fire fighter from Fountain City, Iowa, won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award in the Boater Division and collected $560 with a 6-pound, 11-ounce largemouth that he caught on a crankbait while fishing stumps near Pine Grove.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,014 went to Bill Conrad, 59, of Corydon, Ind., who topped 112 competitors with two largemouth bass weighing 8-4. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,007 went to Mike Odell of Hamilton, Ohio, with one bass weighing 6-9, while Jason Seaton of Martinsville, Ind., took third place and $504 with two bass weighing 6-7.
Odell, 54, also won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $280 with the largemouth that he caught while fishing the middle fork of Lake Monroe.
Leroy McGregor of Vincennes, Ind., won the Berkley Power Bait award, a package of baits valued at $200, for the heaviest overall catch on Power Bait or Frenzy lures. He caught two largemouth bass weighing 9-13.
The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 9-10 on the Ohio River, 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.