LIVONIA, Mich., (August 16,1999) Jerry Dietrich of Livonia, Michigan, took first place, $2484, plus 50 CITGO Challenge Points for winning the Red Man Michigan Division qualifier held Sunday on Lake St. Clair. Dietrich brought in five bass weighing 18 pounds, 8 ounces to top a field of 144 anglers competing for $8560.
Dietrich fished in the Main Lake channels using a Berkley smoke Power Tube. Second place and $1242 went to Mark Modrak of Chesterfield, Michigan, for five bass weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces. Modrak fished with tube lures in sandgrass to catch his fish.
Rounding out the top positions were: (3) Steve Clapper, Lima, OH, five bass, 18-0, $729; (4) Marty Wiebelhaus Taylor, MI, five bass, 17-1, $455; (5) Bob Suci, Grand Blanc, MI, five bass, 17-11, $455.
Jerry Dietrich and Mark Modrak tied as winners for the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $1,000 with a 5 pound, 9 ounce bass. 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 Millennium tournament.
Dietrich also won the Berkley Powerbait award a package of baits valued at $325 for the highest weight caught on Powerbait or Frenzy lures with 18 pounds, 8 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.