SLIDELL, La., – Hank Perkins of Collinsville, Miss., out fished the competition Saturday to earn $3,885 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail Mississippi Division opener on the Pearl River.
Perkins caught five largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Chuck Koski of Biloxi, Miss., who finished with a five-bass catch of 13-1 worth $1,943. Perkins caught his limit, including a 5-pound, 2-ounce largemouth that earned him $525 for the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award, flipping a Zoom lizard in dead end canals.
Jeffery Camp of Blytheville, Ark., and Ted Marodis of Biloxi, Miss., tied for third and collected $906 each for five bass weighing 12-10. James Hays of Meridian, Miss., placed fourth and earned $777 for five bass weighing 12-5.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,943 went to Jackie Penny of Meridian, Miss., for five bass weighing 11-3. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $971 went to Gary Jones of Moss Point, Miss., for five bass weighing 10-5, while Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss., took third place and $486 with five bass weighing 9-10. Jones also won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $262 for a 4-pound, 10-ounce largemouth he caught on a Strike King spinnerbait.
Keith Brumfield of Jackson, Miss., 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. He caught a limit weighing 7-2.
On March 25, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit Pickwick Lake for the second of five events in the Mississippi Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 30-Oct. 1 on Lake Ferguson, 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