MONROE CITY, Mo., (June 6,1999) – Jason Mckinney of Cairo, Missouri, took first place, $2056, plus 50 CITGO Challenge Points for winning the Red Man Plains Division qualifier held Sunday on Mark Twain Lake. Mckinney brought in a five bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 6 ounces to top a field of 108 anglers competing for $6670.
Mckinney fished the mid and lower lake area to catch his fish. He used a Storm Wiggle Wart crankbait and a black/blue jig and pig combo on secondary points. Second place and $1028 went to Jim Wolfe of Rogers, Arkansas, for a five bass limit weighing 15 pounds. He caught his fish using a chartreuse/white spinnerbait around wind blown main lake points.
Rounding out the top positions were: (3) Kirk Smith, Edmond, OK, four bass, 14-12, $604; (4) Tad Richards, Glendale, MO, five bass, 14-7, $387; (5) Greg Leary, Jefferson City, MO, five bass, 14-6, $367.
Tournament winner Jason Mckinney also won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $1,000 for a 7 pound, 11 ounce bass. Scott Stephenson of Topeka, KS, is leading the Plains Division’s Ranger Millennium big bass race for the year with a bass weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces. 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. Tad Richards of Glendale, MO, won the Berkley Powerbait award – a package of baits valued at $325 – for the highest weight caught on Powerbait or
Frenzy lures with 14 pounds, 7 ounces.
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.