FLORENCE, Ala. – Alan Parsons of Oak Ridge, Tenn., out-fished 120 competitors on Pickwick Lake this weekend to win a new Chevy Silverado and an Evinrude-powered Ranger 518 VX boat in the second of six Red Man Tournament Trail Regional Championships.
Parsons caught five bass weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces on the final day of the three-day tournament to claim top honors and a spot in the 2001 All-American Championship, which will be contested in May on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark.
On opening day of the regional, Parsons caught five bass weighing 10-10, and on day two, he caught five more bass weighing 11 pounds, 10 ounces to qualify for the final round.
Keith Green of Arkadelphia, Ark., took second place and collected $5,000 with a final-round catch of five bass weighing 10-5. Ricky Smith of Anniston, Ala., took third place and $2,500 with five bass weighing 8-13. Jeremiah Kindy of Benton, Ark., placed fourth and earned $2,000 with five bass weighing 7-9, while Todd Tucker of Moultrie, Ga., placed fifth and earned $1,500 with five bass weighing 7-5.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and a new Evinrude-powered Ranger R81 boat went to Aaron Wehmeyer of Sesser, Ill., who topped 120 competitors with a final-round catch of four bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces. Wehmeyer caught 10 bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces during the first two days of competition.
Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,500 went to Justin Brewer of Cedarville, Ark., with a final-round catch of five bass weighing 6-4, while Dan Franklin of Van Buren, Ark., took third place and $1,250 with four bass weighing 6-0. Stanley Foust of Clinton, Tenn., placed fourth and earned $1,000 with three bass weighing 3-8, and Gary Fowler of Gordon, Ga., placed fifth and collected $750 with two bass weighing 2-14.
The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers from the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Arkie, Bulldog, Choo Choo and Illini divisions competed in the Pickwick Lake Regional presented by BC Powder.
Five regional championships will each advance eight boaters and co-anglers to the All-American. Four boaters and co-anglers will advance from a sixth regional, and the top three boaters and co-anglers in two Chevy Wild Card events will qualify for the All-American, yielding a field of 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers. The winning boater at the All-American will receive $100,000, and the winning co-angler will collect $50,000. Overall, more than $5.7 million could be awarded across 22 divisions nationwide during the 2000 Red Man season.
Red Man became the trail’s title sponsor in 1983. Wal-Mart recently announced that it has assumed title sponsorship of the tournament series for 2001 and will rename it the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League.