WOODBRIDGE, Va. (May 8, 2006) - Mike McDonald of Randleman, N.C., earned $5,133 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division bass fishing tournament on the Potomac River. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Shenandoah Division events and featured 160 boaters vying for the win, which earned McDonald 200 points in the Boater Division.
McDonald's winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 15 ounces. He was casting a Texas-rigged Brush Hog into grass beds in 3 to 5 feet of water to catch his bass.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Geoffrey Hill of Salem, Va. (five bass, 19 pounds, 13 ounces, $2,566); Flash Butts of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. (five bass, 19 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,710); Doug Grubbs of Woodbridge, Va. (five bass, 19 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,198) and Boogie Atkins of Greenville, Va. (five bass, 19 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,027).
Doug Grubbs also took the Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $800 for a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Brent Chapman of Union Hall, Va., bested 160 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,566 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces. Chapman also took the co-angler division big-bass honors with a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass earning him an additional $400.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Justin Lynch of Chesterfield, Va. (five bass, 17 pounds, 1 ounces, $1,238); Gee Kim of Fairfax, Va., (five bass, 16 pounds, 10 ounces, $855) Ronald Miller of Ruther Glen, Va., (five bass, 16 pounds, $599) and Michael Mayhew of Bedford, Va. (five bass, 15 pounds, 13 ounces, $513).
The Shenandoah Division's next event will be held June 3 on Lake Gaston near Bracey, Va., followed by an event on the James River near Richmond, Va., July 29. The Shenandoah Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 30- Oct. 1 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Potomac River near Woodbridge.