BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. - Boater Chad Baker of Piney Flats earned $4,683 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Mountain Division bass fishing tournament on Dale Hollow Lake. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Mountain Division events and featured 183 boaters vying for the win, which earned Baker 200 points in the Boater Division.
Baker's winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 8 ounces, and he caught them midlake on a floating worm.
Finishing second was Terry Ledford of Barbourville, Ky., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces that earned him $2,341. Keith Monson of Burgin, Ky., claimed $1,592 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces. In fourth was J.B. King of Byrdstown with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces worth $1,217, and finishing fifth and earning $1,030 was Jordan Card of LaFollette with five bass weighing 15 pounds.
Ledford earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. John Devere of Berea, Ky., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $915 for a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a jig.
Kelly Denton of Bristol, Va., bested 175 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,259 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces that he caught on a floating worm.
Kenny Botts of Tompkinsville, Ky., finished second with a three-bass catch weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces worth $1,129, and in third was Johnny Taylor of Kodak with three bass weighing 6 pounds that earned him $768. Tied for fourth were Billy Gardner of Livingston (two bass) and Greg Foley of Danville, Ky. (three bass). Both anglers caught 5 pounds, 15 ounces worth of bass to earn $542 each.
Paul Flatt of Cookeville earned $438 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a floating worm.
The Mountain Division's next event will be held May 15 on Douglas Lake near Sevierville, followed by an event on Watts Barr Lake in Spring City June 5. The Mountain Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 2-3 with a two-day Super Tournament on Cherokee Lake near Morristown.