WINNECONNE, Wisc., (July 12,1999) Troy Anderson of Galesville, Wisconsin, took first place, $3255, plus 50 CITGO Challenge Points for winning the Red Man Great Lakes Division qualifier held Sunday on Lake Winneconne.
Anderson brought in a five bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces to top a field of 210 anglers competing for $11,972.50.
Anderson fished the south Winnebago area using 4 inch camouflage Power tubes. He caught most of his fish in the afternoon in shady flats. Second place and $1628 went to Curtis Samo of Creston, Illinois, for a five bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces.
Samo used a One-quarter ounce jig and Gambler spider grubs, fishing shallow rock, grass, and wood.
Rounding out the top positions were: (3) Kurt Kahl, Freeport, IL, five bass, 12„8, $955; (4) Mike Felderman, Galena, IL, four bass, 11-10, $612; (5) Tom Monsoor, LaCrosse, WI, four bass, 11-2, $580.
Bill Oldenburg of LaCrescent, MN, won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $1,000 for a 4 pound, 13 ounce bass.
Tom Monsoor of LaCrosse, WI, is leading the Great Lakes Division’s Ranger Millennium big bass race for the year with a bass weighing 4 pounds, 7 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.
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.