GREERS FERRY, Ark. (May 8, 2004)- Brandon Rhoden of Sheridan earned $3,853 Saturday as winner of the third regular-season Bass Fishing League Arkie Division bass fishing tournament on Greers Ferry Lake near Greers Ferry. He caught five bass weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces to claim the win and 200 points in the Boater Division.
Rhoden caught his tournament-winning bass on a buzzbait. He also earned $695 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner thanks to a 3-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Tied for second were Larry Boley of Dover and Ryan Williams of Conway. Both anglers caught five bass weighing 10 pounds, 5 ounces that earned each of them $1,618. In fourth was Keith Green of Arkadelphia with five bass weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces that earned him $1,002, and finishing fifth was Jamey Black of Sheridan with a five-bass catch weighing 9 pounds, 13 ounces worth $848.
Eddie Woody of North Little Rock earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and he also earned another $250 from Yamaha because his boat is powered by a Yamaha outboard.
Charles Swain of Vilonia claimed $1,873 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a four-bass catch weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces that he caught in the upper end of the lake in buck brush in 1 to 3 feet of water.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Evan Webster of Little Rock (five bass, 8 pounds, 8 ounces, $937); Brian Coleman of Delaware (five bass, 8 pounds, 5 ounces, $637); Lee Anderson of Conway (four bass, 8 pounds, 2 ounces, $487); and Jim Carothers of Pine Bluff (five bass, 7 pounds, 5 ounces, $412).
Josh Tittle of Lake Village earned $333 as the big-bass winner in the Co-angler Division with a 3-pound, 13-ounce bass.
The Arkie Division's next stop will be June 19 on the Arkansas River in Russellville, and the regular season will come to a close Sept. 25-26 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs.