DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (April 18, 2005) - Boater Eddie Ball of Newport earned $4,840 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Mountain Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Douglas. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Mountain Division events and featured 166 boaters vying for the win, which earned Ball 200 points in the Boater Division.
Ball's winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 8 ounces. Ball earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Garmin Grand award.
Finishing second was Bobby Ferguson of Chuckey with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces that earned him $2,420. Marty Shelley of Byrdstown claimed $1,582 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces. In fourth was Rex Huff of Corbin, Ky., with four bass weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces worth $1,232, and finishing fifth and earning $1,012 was Donnie Claywell of East Bernstadt, Ky., with five bass weighing 13 pounds.
Gary Smith of Clinton took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $830 for a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass.
Eric Stonecypher of Columbia, Ky., earned $2,345 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds. Stonecypher earned an additional $395 as winner of the co-angler big-bass award with a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Gary Stamper of Grayson, Ky. (five bass, 11 pounds, $1,173); Barry Dick of Somerset, Ky. (five bass, 9 pounds, 15 ounces, $768); Kibbee McCoy of Crossville (five bass, 9 pounds, 8 ounces, $597); and Bobby Abbott of Kodak (four bass, 8 pounds, 14 ounces, $490).
The Mountain Division's next event will be held May 14 on Dale Hollow Lake near Byrdstown, followed by an event on the Barren River near Scottsville, Ky., June 18. The Mountain Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Cherokee near Morristown.