SOUTH HILL, Va. (April 10, 2006) Boater Cavin Young of Prince George, Va., earned $6,000 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Gaston. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Piedmont Division events and featured a full field of 200 boaters vying for the win, which earned Young 200 points in the Boater Division.
Youngs winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 6 ounces. He threw a spinnerbait and Chug Bug on points around the main lake to catch his bass. Young also earned an additional $1,000 for winning the Ranger Cup contingency award.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Bruce Hoadley of Fuquay Varina, N.C. (five bass, 17 pounds, 5 ounces, $3,000); Flash Butts of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. (five bass, 17 pounds, 2 ounces, $2,000); Jimmy Hayes of Fayetteville, N.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,400) and Brian Stacy of Radford, Va. (five bass, 14 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,200).
John Gills of Portsmouth, Va., and Phillip Sykes Jr. of Enfield N.C., both took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning them $500 each when each landed a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass.
Gerry Burchfield of Thomasville, N.C., bested 200 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $3,000 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces that he caught while throwing a Rat-L-Trap and spinnerbait on a main lake hump in 6 to 10 feet of water.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jamie Henry of Fincastle, Va. (five bass, 14 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,500); Ed Fore of Gladys, Va., (four bass, 12 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,000) Steve Walsh of Doswell, Va., (four bass, 10 pounds, 10 ounces, $700) and Brad Pegram of Henderson, N.C. (three bass, 8 pounds, 7 ounces, $600).
Frank Buccialia Jr. of Littleton, N.C., earned $500 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass.
The Piedmont Divisions next event will be held May 13 on Jordan Lake near Sanford, N.C. The fourth event will be held June 24 on Kerr Lake and the Piedmont Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 23-24 with a two-day Super Tournament on Kerr Lake near Henderson, N.C.