HENDERSON, N.C. (March 14, 2005) - Boater Tommy Little of Chester, Va., earned $2,909 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Kerr Lake. The tournament was the first of five regular-season North Carolina Division events and featured 81 boaters vying for the win, which earned Little 200 points in the Boater Division.
Little's winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 15 ounces. Little caught his bass on a Shad Rap while fishing rocky main lake points.
Finishing second was Dennis Gilbert of Nathalie, Va., with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 11 ounces that earned him $1,455. Gilbert won an additional $500 as the Ranger Cup award winner. Charles L. Bowman II of Kernersville claimed $951 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces. In fourth was Anthony Fofi of Spring Lake with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces worth $741, and finishing fifth and earning $608 was Larry Inman of Greensboro with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces.
Gene Borgeau of Frametown, W.Va., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $405 for a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a spinnerbait.
Butch Zadlo of Boone bested 81 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,455 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces that he caught on a Shad Rap.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Zach Gooch of Troy (three bass, 10 pounds, 12 ounces, $727); Andy Bailey of Beckley, W.Va. (two bass, 8 pounds, 4 ounces, $478); Brian Smith of Winston Salem (three bass, 6 pounds, 15 ounces, $370); and Ricky Byrd of Independence, Va. (three bass, 6 pounds, 13 ounces, $304).
In addition, Gooch earned $203 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a jerkbait.
The North Carolina Division's next event will be held April 2 on Lake Norman near Terrell, followed by an event on Lake Gaston near Littleton April 30. The fourth-qualifying event will be held on High Rock Lake near Salisbury June 4. The North Carolina Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Wylie near Lake Wylie, S.C.