HIXSON, Tenn. (March 21, 2005) - Boater Jeff Knight of Cleveland earned $2,909 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Chickamauga. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Choo Choo Division events and earned Knight 200 points in the Boater Division.
Knight's winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 11 ounces. Knight was fishing points with a 1/4-ounce Rat-L-Trap when he caught his bass. Knight earned an additional $405 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner thanks to a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Finishing second was Dennis Tweed of Charleston with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce that earned him $1,455. Ryan Rigsby of Hixson claimed $951 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces. In fourth was Roy Dye of Chattanooga with three bass weighing 11 pounds, 11 ounces worth $741, and finishing fifth and earning $608 was Chad Reel of Dayton with four bass weighing 10 pounds, 13 ounces.
Shannon Devere of Berea, Ky., earned $500 as the Ranger Cup award winner.
Ben Bradley of Ooltewah earned $1,449 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 10 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a Bandit crankbait.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Roger Hicks of Rocky Face, Ga. (three bass, 9 pounds, 6 ounces, $725); Greg Leighty of Hixson (four bass, 9 pounds, 4 ounces, $472); Allen Lewis of Soddy Daisy (three bass, 9 pounds, $369); and Ronnie Burt of Hixson (three bass, 8 pounds, 12 ounces, $303).
Mark Pirkle of Cleveland earned $198 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound bass he caught on a jerkbait.
The Choo Choo Division's next event will be held April 30 on Wheeler Lake near Rogersville, Ala., followed by an event on Lake Weiss near Cedar Bluff, Ala., May 21. The Choo Choo Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on Watts Barr Lake near Rockwood.