SENECA FALLS, N.Y. (July 11, 2005) - Boater Kraig Kettlekamp of Clifton Springs earned $5,601 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Empire Division bass fishing tournament on Cayuga Lake. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Empire Division events and featured 155 boaters vying for the win, which earned Kettlekamp 200 points in the Boater Division.
Kettlekamp's winning catch of five bass weighed 14 pounds, 15 ounces. He threw topwater lures and soft-plastic tube baits over grass in 9 to 10 feet of water to catch his bass. He earned $4,601 fore the win plus an additional $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.
Finishing second was John Lorenzo of Kane, Pa., with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces that earned him $2,301. In a third-place tie were Michael Morrin of Waterloo and Thomas Eveland of Nanticoke, Pa. Each angler caught five bass weighing 14 pounds and earned $1,339. Finishing fifth and earning $962 was Mitch Pierson of Newton, N.J., with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 9 ounces.
Stephen Deguzis of Bristol, Conn., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $775 for a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Senko.
Richard French of Newfield bested 155 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,301 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught on Senkos, spinnerbaits and crawfish lures.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Merrill Showers of New Columbia, Pa. (five bass, 13 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,150); Aaron Fisk of Millville, Pa. (five bass, 13 pounds, 1 ounce, $751); in a fourth-place tie were Robert Quimby of Auburn and Jacob Rice of Osceola Mills, Pa. Both co-anglers caught five bass weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces worth $533.
Shawn Nollan of Ballston Lake earned $388 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 13-ounce bass he caught on a Senko.
The Empire Division's next event will be held July 30 on Seneca Lake near Romulus, followed by an event at Thousand Islands near Clayton Aug. 20. The Empire Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Champlain near Ticonderoga.