GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Tim Rhoades of Bowling Green, Ky., out-fished 169 competitors Saturday to earn $5,417 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail LBL Division opener on Kentucky Lake.
Rhoades caught five bass weighing 13 pounds, 15 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Mark Jordan of Kevil, Ky., who finished with a four-bass catch of 13-14 worth $2,708.
Britt Cone of Benton, Ky., took third place and collected $1,354 for five bass weighing 13-3. William Jasper of Millington, Tenn., placed fourth and earned $1,174 for four bass weighing 12-10, while Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., placed fifth and earned $1,083 for five bass weighing 12-8.
Rick Murphy, 40, of Plainfield, Ind., won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award in the Boater Division and collected $845 for a 7-pound, 15-ounce bass that he caught while slow rolling a chartreuse and white spinnerbait.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,708 went to John Duwel, 40, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who topped 169 competitors with two bass weighing 11-10. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,354 went to Victor Woeltz of Paducah, Ky., for two bass weighing 11-0, while Crispin Powley of Paris, Tenn., took third place and $677 with two bass weighing 10-6.
Ricky McAlexander of Huntington, Tenn., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $422 for a 9-pound, 3-ounce behemoth that he caught on a spinnerbait in Eddy Creek.
On April 22, the Red Man Tournament Trail will return to Kentucky Lake for the second of five events in the LBL 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 Kentucky Lake, 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.