LAWRENCEBURG, Ind., (May 23,1999) – Kelly Hook of New Albany, Indiana, took first place, $3576, plus 50 CITGO Challenge Points for winning the Red Man Hoosier Division qualifier held Sunday on the Ohio River. Hook brought in a five bass limit totaling 10 pounds, 1 ounce to top a field of 241 anglers competing for $13,652.50.
Hook flipped stumps in creeks with Stanley jigs and Berkley craws to catch his bass. Second place and $1788 went to Chris Combess of Cincinnati, Ohio, for his four bass that weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces. He fished the Mud Hole area using homemade crappie jigs Carolina-rigged.
Rounding out the top positions were: (3) Bryan McNeal, Springfield, OH, five bass, 7-12, $1049; (4) Larry Paul, N. Vernon, IN, three bass, 7-11, $672; (5) Chris Shepard, Callinsville, OH, four bass, 7-9, $602. Gerald Smith of Louisville, KY, won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $1,000 for a 4 pound, 11 ounce bass. He is also leading the Hoosier Division’s Ranger Millennium big bass race for the year.
The Ranger boat owner who catches the largest bass in each Red Man division over the course of the season, will qualify to enter the Ranger M1 Millenium tournament.
Winner Kelly Hook won the Berkley Powerbait award – a package of baits valued at $325 – for the highest weight caught on Powerbait or Frenzy lures with 10 pounds, 1 ounce.
At the completion of the six Red Man qualifying events, the top 30 anglers, determined on a basis of pounds and points, will move onto Regional Championship competition. There they will compete against the top 30 fishermen from three other divisions for a Dream Rig consisting of a Chevy truck and a full-rigged Ranger bass boat powered by an Evinrude or Johnson outboard (only two divisions compete in the Western Regional for a
fully-rigged Ranger bass boat) and a spot in the Red Man All-American in Hot Springs, Arkansas, May 8-13, 2000, where the winner will receive $100,000. The rookie advancing farthest along the Red Man Trail will win the Old Milwaukee NA Rookie-of-the-Year Award.
All Red Man tournaments are catch and release events. Operation Bass historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate throughout the tournament season.
Sponsors of the 1999 Red Man Tournament Trail include: Evinrude Outboards, Evinrude Electrics, CITGO Petroleum, Ranger Boats, Humminbird Fishfinders, Stren Fishing Lines, Abu Garcia Rods and Reels, Chevy Trucks, ENERGIZER Marine Batteries, Old Milwaukee NA, Black & Decker, David Seeds, Coleman Products, Land O’Lakes, BC Powder, Eveready, Wheaties, Chex Mix, Hamburger Helper, Wrangler, US Bank-VISA, Powerbait, and Frenzy.