ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. (March 14, 2005) - Boater Philip Sykes, Jr. of Enfield earned $4,766 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Gaston. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Piedmont Division events and featured 162 boaters vying for the win, which earned Sykes 200 points in the Boater Division.
Syke's winning catch of five bass weighed 22 pounds, 10 ounces. Sykes fished a Shad Rap along pockets and points in 4-8 feet of water to catch his bass.
Finishing second was Ray Griffin of Henderson with four bass weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce that earned him $2,383. Griffin earned an additional $750 as winner of the Ranger Cup award and the Powered by Yamaha award. Rodney Sorrell of Stokesdale claimed $1,558 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds. In fourth was Greg Stallings of Dry Fork, Va., with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces worth $1,213, and finishing fifth and earning $996 was David Galloway of Raleigh with four bass weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces.
Lucas Duncan of Riner, Va., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $810 for a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Shad Rap.
James Therrell of North Augusta, S.C. bested 162 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,383 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces that he caught on a Rat-L-Trap. Therrell won an additional $405 as the Co-Angler Division big-bass award winner with a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Gerry Burchfield of Thomasville (two bass, 10 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,191); Jack Markham III of Durham (two bass, 8 pounds, 5 ounces, $779); John Hampton of Suffolk, Va. (three bass, 7 pounds, 12 ounces, $607); and Steve Lowe of Danville, Va. (three bass, 7 pounds, 9 ounces, $498).
The Piedmont Division's next event will be held April 16 on Kerr Lake near Henderson, followed by another event on Kerr Lake near Henderson May 21. The fourth-qualifying event will be held July 23 on the Chickahominy River near Williamsburg, Va. The Piedmont Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on Kerr Lake near Henderson.