PROSPERITY, S.C. - Boater Robert Walser of Lexington, N.C., earned $4,910 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Murray. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Carolina Division events and featured 195 boaters vying for the win, which earned Walser 200 points in the Boater Division.
Walser's winning catch of five bass weighed 20 pounds, 11 ounces, and he caught them on a buzzbait and a Zoom lizard. Walser also earned $1,000 from Garmin for using only Garmin electronics during the event.
Finishing second was Chris Baldwin of Lexington, N.C., with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 7 ounces that earned him $2,455. Norm Attaway of North Augusta claimed $1,670 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce. In fourth was Tracy Hewitt of Orangeburg with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces worth $1,277, and finishing fifth and earning $1,080 was Andy Montgomery of Grover, N.C., with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces.
Baldwin earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. Steve Phillips of Lugoff took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $975 for a 9-pound, 10-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a spinnerbait.
Steve Harwood of Weaverville, N.C., bested 191 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,423 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught on a Texas-rigged worm.
Finishing second was Bill Price of Gaffney with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces that earned him $1,212. Tied for third were Jeffrey Eudy of Albemarle, N.C., and Kenneth Cooper of Ninety Six. Both anglers caught five bass weighing 11 pounds, 14 ounces that earned each of them $727. Kenneth Stamey of Lincolnton, N.C., finished fifth with four bass that weighed 11 pounds, 13 ounces worth $533.
Steve Atkinson of Hartsville earned $478 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass he caught on a green pumpkin Zoom lizard.
The Carolina Division's next event will be held May 22 on the Santee Cooper lakes near Summerton, followed by an event on High Rock Lake in Salisbury, N.C., June 19. The Carolina Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 18-19 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Wylie near York.