RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Keith Williams, 23, of Conway, Ark., out-fished 105 competitors Saturday to earn $3,885 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Arkie Division event on Lake Dardanelle.
Williams, the son of Land O’Lakes angler Jerry Williams, is a recent college grad who was competing in his first Red Man tournament. He caught five largemouth bass weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces during the one-day event to top Mark Hensiek of England, Ark., who finished with a three-bass catch of 10-15 worth $1,943. Williams caught his limit, including a 4-10 bass that earned him an additional $525 as the Abu Garcia Big Bass in the Boater Division, flipping a black-and-blue jig into wood bands in just 1 foot of water around mid lake.
Bill Yates of Ozark, Ark., took third place and collected $971 with four bass weighing 10-6. Jay Lewis of Roland, Ark., placed fourth and earned $842 with five bass weighing 10-2, while Edward Waits III of Pine Bluff, Ark., placed fifth and earned $777 with five bass weighing 9-13.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,888 went to Shane Stoddard, 21, of Pearcy, Ark., who topped 99 competitors with five bass weighing 12-7. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $944 went to Todd Brown of Maumelle, Ark., for two bass weighing 7-0, while Colin Griffin of London, Ark., took third place and $472 with two bass weighing 6-5.
David Reaves, 54, of Gould, Ark., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $247 with a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught in Shoal Bay on a deep-running shad-colored crankbait.
Vandy Cameron, 29, of Rogers, Ark., won the Berkley Power Bait award, a package of baits valued at $200, for the heaviest overall catch on Power Bait or Frenzy lures. He caught four largemouth bass weighing 9-4.
Overall, 215 bass weighing 464 pounds, 5 ounces were caught during the tournament, including seven five-bass limits.
On June 3, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit Millwood Lake for the fourth of five events in the Arkie Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 9-10 on the Arkansas River near Pine Bluff Regional Park, will be declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $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.
Red Man became the trail’s title sponsor in 1983.