OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Oct. 6, 2003) - John Huls of Lakeland caught nine bass weighing 42 pounds, 13 ounces to win $8,320 at the Bass Fishing League Gator Division Super Bass Fishing Tournament, on Lake Okeechobee near Okeechobee. Huls bested 161 Boater Division competitors and earned 300 points at the tournament, which was the fifth and final Gator Division event of the regular season.
Huls caught five bass Saturday weighing 30 pounds, 4 ounces and caught another four weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces Sunday to win the event. He caught his tournament-winning bass on a Gambler Crawdaddy. He also earned a $1,000 bonus from Garmin for using a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/sounder during the event. He won another $1,610 as the big-bass award winner thanks to an 8-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Jim Murphy of Ocala (10 bass, 39 pounds, 5 ounces); Curtis Lewis of West Palm Beach (10 bass, 37 pounds, 15 ounces); Bobby Lane of Lakeland (10 bass, 34 pounds, 2 ounces); and Jim Taylor of Bokeelia (10 bass, 34 pounds, 1 ounce).
Lewis earned a $500 bonus as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.
James Folks of Melbourne led 155 Co-angler Division competitors on day two to claim $4,024 as the Super Tournament co-angler winner. He caught five bass Saturday weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces and followed that up Sunday with five more bass weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces to earn the win with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 6 ounces. He used a 10-inch Gambler Worm to score the win, his first.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert Abshire of Cape Coral (10 bass, 26 pounds, 11 ounces); George Greene of Port St. Lucie (10 bass, 23 pounds, 5 ounces); Michael Dwyer of Satellite Beach (10 bass, 23 pounds, 2 ounces); and James Gregg of Englewood (eight bass, 23 pounds).
Paul Lowery of Lake Worth took co-angler big-bass honors and $765 with a 7-pound, 11-ounce bass.
Eric Bozeman of Bloomingdale, Ga., is the Gator Division's Yamaha "Be the Best" points leader, winning $1,000 for the 1,003 points he earned during five regular-season tournaments. Michael Beard of Oakland Park is the Yamaha "Be the Best" points leader in the Co-angler Division. He earned $500 for his division-leading 977 points.