CLINTON, Mo., (Sept. 27, 1999) Adam Wright of Benton, Ark., took first place, $2,202 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points for winning the Red Man Ozark Division qualifier held Sunday on Truman Lake. Wright brought in five bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces to top a field of 122 anglers competing for $7,405. Wright fished laydowns in the Bucksaw area of the lake, using brown and black jigs.
Second place and $1,101 went to Stan Tucker of Festus, Mo., for four bass weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce. Tucker fished the Oasage River, using a white spinnerbait.
Rounding out the top positions were: (3) Clayton Morris, Sedalia, Mo., four bass, 11-12, $646; (4) Steve St. Clair, Pyatt, Ark., three bass, 10-10, $414; and (5) Steve Hudgens, Independence, Mo., four bass, 10-9, $393. Edward Berends of Osage City, Kan., won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $1,000 for a 5 pound, 10 ounce bass. The catch also gave him the lead in the Ozark Division 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 Millennium tournament. Mark Schnieders of Jefferson City, Mo., won the Berkley Powerbait award “a package of baits valued at $325” for the highest weight caught on Powerbait or Frenzy lures with 7 pounds, 11 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.