Stillwell wins Red Man bass event on Lake Eufaula
NORTH EUFAULA, Ala., (March 11, 2000) – Mark Stillwell, 44, of Phenic City, Ala., out fished 173 competitors Saturday to earn $5,475 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Bulldog Division event on Lake Eufaula.
Stillwell caught five bass weighing 17 pounds, 4 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Cliff Mundinger Jr. of Tallahassee, Fla., who finished with a five-bass catch of 16-15 worth $2,737. Stillwell caught his limit working a spinnerbait down ledges with stumps.
Jeff Redfern of Canton, Ga., took third place and collected $1,369 for four bass weighing 16-5. Darryl Kraft of Columbus, Ga., placed fourth and earned $1,186 for five bass weighing 14-11, while Kim Carver of Milledgeville, Ga., placed fifth and earned $1,095 for five bass weighing 14-9.
Eddie Smith, 31, of Box Springs, Ga., won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award in the Pro Division and collected $870 for a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass that he caught on a Carolina rigged Zoom lizard in Buxahatchee Creek.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,737 went to John Lindsay of Eatonton, Ga., who topped 173 competitors with four bass weighing 10-1. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,369 went to Charles Utley of Atlanta, Ga., for three bass weighing 9-13, while Richard Sink of Columbus, Ga., took third place and $684 with three bass weighing 8-13.
Kip Carter, an 18-year-old student from Oxford, Ga., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $435 for a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a green Zoom lizard.
On May 20, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit Lake Lanier for the third 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 on Lake Sinclair, 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.
Medlock wins Red Man bass event on Lake Hartwell
ANDERSON, S.C., (March 11, 2000) – Rodger Medlock, 29, of Moore, S.C., out fished 176 competitors during heavy rain Saturday to earn $5,569 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Carolina Division event on Lake Hartwell.
Medlock, a mortgage lender, caught five bass weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Mike Lanier of Leland, N.C., who finished with a five-bass catch of 17-12 worth $2,785. Medlock caught his limit, including a 5-pound, 13-ounce lunker, working a brown jig around brush piles in 8 to 15 feet of water.
Norm Attaway of North Augusta, S.C., took third place and collected $1,392 for five bass weighing 16-10. Bruce Cann of Anderson, S.C., placed fourth and earned $1,207 for five bass weighing 15-8, while Ronald Wolfarth of Locust, N.C., placed fifth and earned $1,114 for five bass weighing 14-13.
Ken Yelvington, 42, of Eastover, S.C., won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award in the Pro Division and collected $885 for a 7-pound, 4-ounce bass that he caught on a black and silver crankbait.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,785 went to Scott Burgess, 38, of Winston Salem, N.C., who topped 176 competitors with five bass weighing 15-6. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,392 went Ben McKinney of Boone, N.C., for five bass weighing 15-1, while Eddie Burgess of Greenwood, S.C., took third place and $696 with four bass weighing 12-0.
Willie Turman, 51, of Lithonia, Ga., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $442 for a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught out of 6 feet of water on a crankbait.
Mark Stanfield of Franklin, N.C., 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 five bass weighing 7-10.
On April 1, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit Lake Santee Cooper for the third of five events in the Carolina Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 9-10 on Lake Murray, 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.
Browne wins Red Man Bass Event On Lake Toho
KISSIMMEE, Fla., (March 11, 2000) – Red Man Tournament Trail rookie Glen Browne of Orlando, Fla., out fished 187 competitors Saturday to earn $5,815 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the trail’s Gator Division event on Lake Toho.
Browne caught five largemouth bass weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Allan Cagle of Winter Haven, Fla., who finished with a five-bass catch of 19-0 worth $2,907. Browne caught his limit flipping a blue plastic crayfish into cover on the south end of the lake.
Mark Eden of Palm Bay, Fla., took third place and collected $1,454 for five bass weighing 16-14. Mark Shepard of Labelle, Fla., placed fourth and earned $1,260 for five bass weighing 16-5, while John Richardson of Cocoa, Fla., placed fifth and earned $1,163 for five bass weighing 14-4.
Fred Ridgon of Belleview, Fla., won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award in the Pro Division and collected $940 for an 8-pound, 15-ounce largemouth.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,907 went to Norman Soash of Land O Lakes, Fla., for five bass weighing 13-5. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,454 went to John Trudell of Lighthouse Point, Fla., for five bass weighing 12-5, while Durwood Day of Kissimmee, Fla., took third place and $727 with five bass weighing 11-2.
Thomas Friedel Jr. of Port Charlotte, Fla., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $470 for a 6-pound, 5-ounce largemouth.
On May 20, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit Lake Okeechobee for the fourth of five events in the Gator Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Oct. 7-8 on Lake Okeechobee, 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.