OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Feb. 7, 2005) - Daryl Deka of Wellington earned $4,446 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Everglades Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Everglades Division events and featured 147 boaters. Deka, who earned 200 points for the win, has already proven himself to be a fierce competitor on Okeechobee, having won the EverStart Series event there earlier this year.
Deka's winning catch of five bass weighed 28 pounds, 1 ounce. He was pitching a crawdad to eel grass and flat reeds in Winnies Cove.
Finishing second was Jimmy McMillan of Belle Glade with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 14 ounces that earned him $2,958. Robert Kimbrough of Vero Beach claimed $1,455 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 1 ounce. Kimbrough earned an additional $500 as the Ranger Cup Award winner. In fourth was Mark Lamb of West Palm Beach with four bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces worth $1,132, and finishing fifth and earning $930 was Jim Hurlock Jr. of Lake Worth with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces.
McMillan won the Boater Division Snickers Big bass award, earning $735 for an 11-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Jim Holmquist of Palm Beach Gardens bested 147 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,223, thanks to four bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces that he caught on plastic worms and lipless crankbaits.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bobby Jones Jr. of Clewiston (five bass, 12 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,112); Aymon Wilcox of Lauderdale Lakes (five bass, 10 pounds, 1 ounce, $726); Elmore Watkins III of Boynton Beach (five bass, 9 pounds, 12 ounces, $566); and Terry Layton of Bartow (two bass, 9 pounds, 5 ounces, $833). Layton earned $368 as the Co-angler Snickers Big Bass award winner with an 8-pound, 2-ounce bass.
The Everglades Division's next three events will be held Feb. 26, March 19 and April 16 on Lake Okeechobee near Okeechobee, Fla. The Everglades Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Okeechobee near Clewiston, Fla.