OSAGE BEACH, Mo. - Boater Mike Foree of Beaufort earned $4,734 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Ozark Division bass fishing tournament on Lake of the Ozarks. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Ozark Division events and featured 185 boaters vying for the win, which earned Foree 200 points in the Boater Division.
Foree's winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 4 ounces, and he caught them on a spinnerbait. He earned $1,000 from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and he also earned another $1,000 from Garmin for using only Garmin electronics during the event.
Finishing second was Dan Schardischau of Lake Ozark with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces that earned him $2,367. R.C. (Bob) Gordy of Galena claimed $1,610 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces. In fourth was Jackie Davis of Willard with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces worth $1,231, and finishing fifth and earning $1,041 was Jason Weast of Macks Creek with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce.
Marty Bohlke Jr. of Grayslake, Ill., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $925 for a 6-pound bass. He caught his big bass on a worm.
James Marion of Tulsa, Okla., bested 184 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,354 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a Baby Brush Hog.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Joe Waggoner of Carthage (five bass, 13 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,177); Myles Nutter of Thedford, Neb. (five bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces, $800); John Taylor of Springdale, Ark. (five bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces, $612); and Chris Epstein of Owensville (four bass, 11 pounds, 8 ounces, $518).
Steve Bradfield of Claremore, Okla., earned $460 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 11-ounce bass he caught on a chartreuse spinnerbait.
The Ozark Division's next event will be held June 12 on Table Rock Lake near Kimberling City, followed by an event on Truman Lake in Clinton July 10. The Ozark Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 11-12 with a two-day Super Tournament on Table Rock Lake near Kimberling City.