MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (Oct. 10, 2005) - Boater Mark Mauldin of Cleveland earned a fully rigged Ranger 519VX and a new Chevy truck Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Regional bass fishing tournament on Lake Cherokee. The top 40 boaters and the top 40 co-anglers from the Buckeye, Illini, LBL and Piedmont divisions competed in the three-day event.
Mauldin's winning three-day catch of 15 bass weighed 47 pounds, 4 ounces. In addition to the new truck and boat, Mauldin earned a ticket to the 2006 $1 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League All-American, where the winning boater will earn up to $140,000 and the winning co-angler will earn $70,000.
Mauldin, who grew up on Lake Cherokee but qualified for the event by finishing 17th in the LBL Division, fished the lower end of the lake around a creek channel bend. He threw a Norman DD22 crankbait to catch his bass. He earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Bombardier contingency award.
The top six boaters and the top six co-anglers fishing the event also earned a berth into the All-American. Rounding out the top six boaters were Mike McDonald of Randleman, N.C. (13 bass, 41 pounds, 11 ounces, $6,000); David Young of Mayfield, Ky. (12 bass, 33 pounds, 7 ounces, $3,000); Kevin Snider of Elizabethtown, Ky. (12 bass, 32 pounds, 3 ounces, $2,500); Tony Fox of Timberlake, N.C. (eight bass, 27 pounds, 13 ounces, $2,000); and Mike Ward of Paris (11 bass, 27 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,800).
McDonald earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.
Michael Emberton of Tompkinsville, Ky., who also qualified through the LBL Division, earned a new Ranger boat as the co-angler winner, thanks to a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 38 pounds, 8 ounces that he caught on buzzbaits, jigs and crankbaits.
Rounding out the top six co-anglers were Tim McCollum of Paducah, Ky. (seven bass, 21 pounds, 13 ounces, $3,000); William Redmond of Sciotoville, Ohio (10 bass, 21 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,500); Michael Edwards of White Bluff (seven bass, 20 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,250); Chuck Rounds of Benton, Ky. (eight bass, 18 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,000); and Brian Futch of Vienna, Ill. (six bass, 16 pounds, 13 ounces, $900).