COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 28, 2005) - Boater Wayne Jeffcoat of Chapin earned $4,493 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Murray. The tournament was the first of five regular-season South Carolina Division events and featured 150 boaters vying for the win, which earned Jeffcoat 200 points in the Boater Division.
Jeffcoat's winning catch of five bass weighed 28 pounds, 14 ounces. He won an additional $1,500 as the Ranger Cup and the Powered by Yamaha awards recipient.
Finishing second was Dave Malin of Ladson with five bass weighing 27 pounds, 2 ounces that earned him $2,247. Billy Garner of Ridgeville and Wayne King of Sumter tied for third place with three and four bass, respectively, weighing 20 pounds, 14 ounces, earning each angler $1,307. Finishing fifth and earning $940 was Thomas M. King of Hartsville with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 11 ounces.
Thomas King and Bo Chappell of Olanta both caught 9-pound, 12-ounce bass and tied for the Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $375 each.
Jeff Bailey of Inman bested 150 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,247 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Orlando C. Giles of Lexington, N.C. (five bass, 14 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,123); Ray Youngblood of Jonesville (two bass, 9 pounds, 12 ounces, $734); Bob Kramer of Columbia (three bass, 9 pounds, 8 ounces, $572); and Jeff Routch of Sumter (two bass, 9 pounds, 3 ounces, $470).
Wesley Story of Grovetown, Ga., earned $375 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with an 8-pound, 13-ounce bass.
The South Carolina Division's next event will be held April 2 on the Santee Cooper Lakes near Manning, followed by an event on Clarks Hill Lake near Augusta, Ga., April 30. The fourth event will be held on Lake Hartwell near Seneca May 21. The South Carolina Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Wylie near York.