OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Jan. 7, 2008) - Boater Jim Gestwicki of Miami, Fla., won the Bass Fishing League Everglades Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds. The victory earned Gestwicki $2,979 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Seminole Regional Championship in Bainbridge, Ga., Oct. 16-18, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
"I had a tremendous time. This was my first major victory," said Gestwicki. "A cold front came through the area and the water temperature dropped so I had to change my strategy right before the tournament."
Gestwicki caught his limit throwing a Zoom Trick Worm on a football-head jig in the Kissimmee River.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Doug Harris of Loxahatchee, Fla. (five bass, 12-15, $1,753); Ronald Yurko of East Point, Fla. (five bass, 12-12, $1,169); Jim Hurlock Jr. of Lake Worth, Fla. (five bass, 11-13, $818) and Jack Hand of St. Cloud, Fla. (five bass, 11-05, $701).
Robert Beatty of Clermont, Fla., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $440 for a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass he caught pitching a black and blue Gambler Crawdaddy.
Richard Prowant of Moore Haven, Fla., earned $1,753 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught near river ledges on a Zoom Trick Worm.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Edward Owens of Port Saint Lucie, Fla. (five bass, 10-10, $876); David Milo of De Bary, Fla. (five bass, 9-10, $585); Bruce Bozman of St. Cloud, Fla. (five bass, 9-03, $409) and Robert Wood of Jupiter, Fla. (two bass, 8-14, $351).
Wood earned $220 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught by flipping a Gambler Sweebo Worm.
Everglades Division anglers will visit the Kissimmee River in Lake Wales, Fla., Feb. 9 for their second regular-season event, followed by an event on Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, Fla., March 29. The division's fourth qualifying event will be held on Kissimmee River in Lake Wales on April 19. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee Sept. 27-28.