PEKIN, Ill. – Kenny Shadwell, 53, of Decatur, Ill., out-fished 72 competitors Saturday to earn $2,986 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Illini Division event on the Illinois River.
Shadwell caught five bass weighing 10 pounds, 5 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Jeff Turner of Plainfield, Ill., who finished with a five-bass catch of 10-0 worth $1,493. Shadwell caught his limit in Peoria Lake by flipping a watermelon-colored lizard to chunks of concrete.
Brent Ausbrook of Olney, Ill., and Bobby Bigliazzi of Farmington, Ill., tied for third place and collected $697 apiece with five bass weighing 9-9. Ed Skube of Riverton, Ill., and Aaron Mays of Woodlawn, Ill., tied for fourth and earned $547 each with five bass weighing 9-3.
Kris Haase, 22, of Cary, Ill., won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award in the Boater Division and collected $360 with a 4-pound, 9-ounce largemouth that he caught on a chartreuse spinnerbait with a white trailer.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,493 went to Roger Massey, 47, of Clinton, Ill., who topped 72 competitors with five largemouth bass weighing 11-4. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $747 went to Daniel Curless of Plymouth, Ill., with five bass weighing 8-15, while Mark Taber of Simpson, Ill., took third place and $373 with five bass weighing 8-13.
Roger Reynolds, 36, of Salem, Ill., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $180 with a 3-pound, 9-ounce largemouth that he caught on a chartreuse crankbait.
Massey won the Berkley Power Bait award, a package of baits valued at $200, for the heaviest overall catch on Power Bait or Frenzy lures.
The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 23-24 on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa, will be declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.
Operation Bass was founded in 1979 on the principle that working anglers should be able to fish competitively without interfering with jobs and family. The trail’s championship event, the Red Man All-American, awards $100,000 to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler. The highest placing CITGO Divisional Points Champion at the All-American receives $10,000 in the Boater Division and $2,500 in the Co-Angler Division. Overall, more than $5.7 million could be awarded in 2000 based on full fields in each of the series’ 119 events nationwide.
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.