BRANDON, Miss. (March 7, 2005) - Boater Kenny Churchill of Jackson earned $4,446 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division bass fishing tournament on Ross Barnett Lake. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Mississippi Division events and featured 147 boaters vying for the win, which earned Churchill 200 points in the Boater Division. Churchill's winning catch of five bass weighed 24 pounds, 1 ounce. He fished 3-foot deep wood ledges with spinnerbait to catch his limit. He won an additional $1,000 as the Ranger Cup award winner and another $500 as the powered by Yamaha award winner.
Finishing second was Jason Cordell of Pelahatchie with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces that earned him $2,223. Charles F. Jones of Jackson, Tenn., claimed $1,455 as the third-place finisher thanks to four bass weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces. Art Hicks of Carrollton and Chad Hall of Pinson, Ala., tied for fourth, each catching a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces worth $1,031.
Johnny Price Jr. of Brookwood, Ala., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $735 for an 8-pound, 9-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait.
Justin Sward of Vancleave bested 147 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,199 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces that he caught on a brush hog.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Wayne Branton of Memphis, Tenn. (3 bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,100); Brandon Bolton of West Point (3 bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, $717); Murphy Downing of Hernando (1 bass, 8 pounds, 3 ounces, $560); and Jeff Johnston of Marion Ark., (3 bass, 7 pounds, 14 ounces, $460).
Downing's 8-pound, 3-ounce bass that he caught on a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait earned him $360 for the co-angler big-bass award.
The Mississippi Division's next event will be held April 2 on Pickwick Lake near Pickwick Dam, Tenn., followed by an event on Columbus Pool Lake near Columbus April 30. The fourth qualifying event will also be held on Columbus Pool Lake near Columbus June 25. The Mississippi Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on Ross Barnett Lake near Brandon.