SUMMERTON, S.C. - The 2004 Bass Fishing League Carolina Division season kicked off Saturday on the Santee Cooper lakes near Summerton, and Cecil Wolfe III of Goose Creek claimed the win thanks to a four-bass catch weighing 25 pounds, 2 ounces. He bested 200 Boater Division competitors to earn $5,000 and 200 points.
Wolfe caught his tournament-winning bass in Lake Moultrie on a crankbait. He is a BFL veteran who also competes in the EverStart Series Eastern Division. He has three career top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors events, all of them on the Santee Cooper lakes.
Rounding out the top five pros are Lynn Langston of Bishopville (five bass, 24 pounds, 5 ounces, $2,500); Joey Sabbagha of Little Mountain (five bass, 23 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,700); Calvin Hewitt of Cope (five bass, 18 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,300); and David Goshorn of Harleyville (four bass, 15 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,100).
Sabbagha claimed Boater Division big-bass honors and $1,000 thanks to a 9-pound bass that he caught on a Rat-L-Trap. Sabbagha also earned $500 as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.
Ken Barnes of Elloree earned $2,500 as the Co-angler Division winner thanks to a four-bass catch that weighed 11 pounds. He edged past 200 Co-angler Division competitors thanks to a Rat-L-Trap that he fished in Lake Marion.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Harvey Harris of Lexington, N.C. (three bass, 10 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,250); Robert Parrish of Albemarle, N.C. (two bass, 10 pounds, 7 ounces, $850); Jonathan Yost of Suffolk, Va. (one bass, 10 pounds, 3 ounces, $650); and Michael Nicholson of Summerville (one bass, 8 pounds, 3 ounces, $550).
Yost earned $500 as the Co-angler Division big-bass winner with a 10-pound, 3-ounce bass that he caught on a Shad Rap.