BAINBRIDGE, Ga., (Feb. 5, 2005) - Boater Jerry Simmons of Donalsonville earned $4,553 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Seminole. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Bulldog Division events and featured 148 boaters. Simmons accumulated 200 points in the Boater Division for the win.
Simmons' winning catch of five bass weighed 22 pounds, 12 ounces. Simmons was fishing a Zoom Baby Brush Hog along outer cover edges in the Spring Creek area.
Finishing second was Roger Morrow of Griffin with four bass weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces that earned him $2,277. Ralph Mixon of Bonaire claimed $1,492 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces. In fourth was Karl Waller of Tallahassee, Fla., with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces worth $1,159, and finishing fifth and earning $952 was Greg Gaston of Thomasville with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces.
Michael Washburn of Covington, Ga., caught the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass, earning $760 for an 8-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Mixon earned an additional $750 as the Ranger Cup and the Powered by Yamaha awards recipient.
Kenneth Price of Senoia earned $2,184 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a bream-colored Rat-L-Trap.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bob Hardin of Albany (three bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,092); Edwin Hunt of Duluth (three bass, 8 pounds, $715); Matt Bowen of Dacula (two bass, 7 pounds, 2 ounces, $556); and Clifford Avery of Bonaire (three bass, 7 pounds, $457).
Bennett Wilson of Albany earned $358 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass.
The Bulldog Division's next event will be held March 12 on Lake Sinclair near Milledgeville, Ga., followed by an event on Lake Oconee near Madison, Ga., April 16 and an event on May 7 on Lake Eufaula near Eufaula, Ala. The Bulldog Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on Clarks Hill Lake near Augusta, Ga.