TERRELL, N.C. (April 4, 2005) - Boater Maurice Freeze of Kannapolis earned $3,414 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Norman. The tournament was the second of five regular-season North Carolina Division events and earned Freeze 200 points in the Boater Division.
Freeze's winning catch of five bass weighed 15 pounds, 13 ounces. He caught his bass by fishing rocky banks with a 5/8-ounce white spinnerbait. Freeze earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.
Finishing second was Shane Patrick of Fleetwood with five bass weighing 15 pounds that earned him $1,707. Larry Pearson of Cramerton claimed $1,117 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces. In fourth was William Goots of Reidsville with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces worth $869, and finishing fifth and earning $714 was David Bowers Jr. of Mooresville with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 10 ounces.
Patrick took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning an additional $510 for a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a spinnerbait.
Anthony Lutz of Denver earned $1,666 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces that he caught on a crankbait.
Jason Barnes of Concord and James Blackstock of Linwood tied for second place in the Co-angler Division, each earning $690 with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 6 ounces and four bass weighing 12 pounds, 6 ounces, respectively. Robert Parrish of Albemarle finished in fourth (five bass, 12 pounds, 5 ounces, $424); and Junior Self of Vale finished in fifth (five bass, 9 pounds, 7 ounces, $348).
Blackstock earned an additional $245 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a spinnerbait.
The North Carolina Division's next event will be held April 30 on Lake Gaston near Littleton, followed by an event 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.