GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (March 14, 2005) - Boater Craig Hipsher of Benton earned $5,489 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League LBL Division bass fishing tournament on Kentucky/Barkley Lake. The tournament was the first of five regular-season LBL Division events and featured 200 boaters vying for the win, which earned Hipsher 200 points in the Boater Division.
Hipsher's winning catch of five bass weighed 23 pounds, 5 ounces. He caught his bass on a jerkbait south of Egner's Ferry Bridge on Kentucky Lake within 10 minutes on back-to-back casts.
Finishing second was Billy Schroeder of Paducah with five bass weighing 22 pounds, 7 ounces that earned him $2,744. Schroeder won an additional $750 as the Ranger Cup award winner and the Powered by Yamaha award winner. Brad Holmes of Crofton claimed $1,793 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 18 pounds, 14 ounces. In fourth was Gerald Andrews of Benton with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces worth $1,397, and finishing fifth and earning $1,148 was Keith White of Paducah with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces.
Tom Hill of Lexington took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $990 for an 8-pound, 6-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a spinnerbait.
Ronda Kirby of Indianapolis, Ind., bested 200 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,758 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 14 pounds, 3 ounces that she caught on a black and blue jig.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jeff Sheehan of Louisville (three bass, 11 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,379); Chris Jones of Paducah (two bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, $907); Lee James of Dawson Springs (three bass, 9 pounds, 7 ounces, $702) and Mark Walls of Paducah (two bass, 8 pounds, 8 ounces, $526).
David Dieling of Elmhurst, Ill., tied for fifth with Walls, winning $526 and earned an additional $498 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with an 8-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a jerkbait.
The LBL Division's next event will be held April 9 on Kentucky/Barkley Lake near Cadiz, followed by an event on Kentucky/Barkley Lake near Kuttawa May 7. The fourth-qualifying event will be held on Kentucky/Barkley Lake near Hardin June 25. The LBL Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Kentucky/Barkley Lake near Kuttawa.