PROSPERITY, S.C. (March 3, 2003) - Bud Moss of Whitmire topped 184 Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Lake Murray with five bass weighing 23 pounds, 10 ounces. The catch earned him $4,708 and 200 points in the Boater Division.
Moss caught his limit on a crankbait in less than 5 feet of water. The catch topped second-place boater Larry Rudisill of Hickory, N.C., by 14 ounces. Rudisill finished the one-day tournament with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 12 ounces worth $2,354.
Bill Holmes of Summerville (five bass, 21 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,601); Cliff Kirby of Catawba, N.C. (five bass, 21 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,224); and Charles Boyte of Columbia (three bass, 20 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,036) rounded out the top five boaters.
Kirby earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. Moss earned boater big-bass honors and $920 with a 9-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Robert Parrish of Albemarle, N.C., claimed first place and $2,354 in the 184-competitor Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 29 pounds, 10 ounces. He surpassed second-place co-angler Shaun Baker of Millers Creek, N.C., by 11 pounds, 15 ounces thanks to a spinner bait he fished 12 to 18 inches deep in the outside grass lines. Baker finished with a five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 11 ounces worth $1,177.
Terry Carteret of Greer (four bass, 17 pounds, $800); Ryan Jackson of Ridgeway (three bass, 16 pounds, 12 ounces, $612); and Derek Bobo of Lexington, N.C. (four bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces, $518) rounded out the top five co-anglers.
Co-angler Mark Barnes of Thomasville, N.C., earned big-bass honors and $460 in his division with a 9-pound, 10-ounce bass. He finished in sixth place overall with a three-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces.