LAKE HAVASU, Ariz., – Mike Goodwin of Lake Havasu, Ariz., braved wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph Saturday to earn $3,152 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points by winning the Boater Division of the Red Man Tournament Trail Colorado River Division season opener on Lake Havasu.
Goodwin, a 45-year-old construction worker, caught five bass weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Bobby Horn of Lake Havasu who finished with a five-bass catch of 13-6 worth $1,576. Goodwin fished a brown and purple jig and 3/8-ounce spinnerbait in the upper half of the lake.
Robert Porter of Lake Havasu placed third and collected $788 for five bass weighing 13-1. Larry Bond of Lake Havasu who earned $683 for five bass weighing 12-10 and Paul Hines of Las Vegas, Nev., who received $630 for five bass weighing 11-13, followed in fourth and fifth place respectively.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,576 went to Chris Trombatore of Yuma, Ariz., for three bass weighing 10-2. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $591went to Kirk Beardsley of Orange County, Calif., and David Parker of Signal Hill, Calif., for five bass weighing 8-1, while Brent Becker of Las Vegas took fourth place and $342 with four bass weighing 7-13.
Beardsley, 41, also won the Berkley Power Bait award, a package of baits valued at $200, for the heaviest overall catch on Power Bait or Frenzy lures in either division.
The tournament’s Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $380 went to Dave Mitchell, 49, of Lake Havasu for a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass. In the Co-Angler Division, Andy Boucek, 34, of La Mesa, Calif., collected $190 from Abu Garcia for a 4-pound bass.
On March 4, the Red Man Tournament Trail travels to Lake Martinez for the second of five events in the Colorado River Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 23-24 on Lake Havasu, is declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season receives $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.