BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (May 16, 2005) - Boater Dennis Etheredge of Livingston earned $3,943 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Mountain Division bass fishing tournament on Dale Hollow Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Mountain Division events and featured 124 boaters vying for the win, which earned Etheredge 200 points in the Boater Division.
Etheredge's winning catch of five bass weighed 18 pounds, 8 ounces. Etheredge flipped Zoom lizards to catch his bass.
Finishing second was Bill Day of Frankfort, Ky., with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him $1,972. Pat Eichmann of Nancy, Ky., claimed $1,292 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces. In fourth was Darryl Nelson of Rickman with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 10 ounces worth $1,004. In a fifth-place tie were Jarrod Hembree of Berea, Ky., and Jeff Neal of Livingston. Hembree caught four bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces and Neal caught five bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces. Each angler earned $752.
Nelson took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $620 for a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a brush hog.
Hembree earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award. Trent Colvin of Greensburg, Ky., earned $1,940 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces that he caught on a jig. Colvin earned an additional $305 as the co-angler big-bass award winner, thanks to a 3-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Leonard Mason of East Bernstadt, Ky. (four bass, 7 pounds, 8 ounces, $970); William Campbell of Middlesboro, Ky. (three bass, 6 pounds, 15 ounces, $632); Jeff Caldwell of Mt. Sterling, Ky. (three bass, 6 pounds, 14 ounces, $494); and Richard M. Snowden of Berea, Ky. (two bass, 5 pounds, 14 ounces, $406).
The Mountain Division's next event will be held June 18 on the Barren River near Scottsville, Ky. The Mountain Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Cherokee near Morristown.