BAINBRIDGE, Ga., – John Kelly of Marianna, Fla., out fished the competition Saturday to earn $6,000 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points in the Boater Division of the Red Man Tournament Trail Bulldog Division season opener on Lake Seminole.
Kelly, a home builder, caught five bass weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces during the one-day event to edge out David Johnson of Marianna who finished with a five-bass catch of 20-1 worth $3,000. Kelly was Carolina rigging a green and chartreuse Zoom Lizard near sand and grass in 4-to 5-feet of water.
Greg Gaston of Thomasville, Ga., placed third and collected $1,500 for five bass weighing 20-0. He was followed by Jerry Simons of Donalsonville, Ga., who earned $1,300 for five bass weighing 19-15, and John Baucom of Tallahassee, Fla., who received $1,200 for five bass weighing 19-12.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $3,000 went to Phillip Allen of Concord, Ga., for four bass weighing 15-9. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,500 went to Scott Cleveland of Douglasville, Ga., for five bass weighing 12-13, while Randy Weaver of Bainbridge, Ga., took third place and $750 with two bass weighing 12-9.
The tournament’s Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $1,000 in the Boater Division went to LeRoy Davis of Alabany, Ga., for a 10-pound largemouth. In the Co-Angler Division, Chad Wise of Dothan, Ala., collected $500 from Abu Garcia for a 7-pound, 14-ounce largemouth.
Chris Miller, a co-angler from Dothan, Ala., 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.
On March 11, the Red Man Tournament Trail will travel to Lake Eufaula for the second of five events in the Bulldog Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 9-10, 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. Since introducing a new boater/co-angler format and switching to Saturday events for the 2000 season, the Red Man Trail has broken participation records in many of its 22 divisions nationwide.
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.