BAY MINNETTE, Ala. (May 12, 2003) - Alan Sward of Pascagoula, Miss., claimed $2,540 as the winner of the Bass Fishing League Gulf Coast Division's fourth regular-season bass fishing tournament, held on the Tensaw River near Bay Minnette. Sward led the field of 75 boaters with a five-bass catch weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces.
Finishing second was Ron Patterson of Pascagoula, Miss., with a five-bass catch weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces worth $1,270.Price Thomas of Saraland finished third with a four-bass catch weighing 8 pounds, 5 ounces that earned him $864. Jesse Draime of Long Beach, Miss., finished fourth with a five-bass catch weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces that earned him $660. Tied for fifth place were Robert Robinson of Mobile and Michael Swoboda of Summerdale with a five-bass catch weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces. Each received $508 for their catch.
Gary Brown of Gautier, Miss., claimed a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.
Dennis Berhorst of Holts Summit, Mo., topped 74 Co-angler Division competitors with a five-bass catch weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces. Berhorst earned $1,253 for the win.
Tied for second place were Butch Kartesz of Roanoke, Va., and Michael Marodis of Biloxi, Miss., with a three-bass catch weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce. Each received $527 for their catch. Dustin Clontz of Albemarle, N.C., finished fourth with a four-bass catch weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces that earned him $326. Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss., finished fifth with a three-bass catch weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce that earned him $276.
Sward earned boater big-bass honors and $375 with a 3-pound, 3-ounce bass, and Kartesz earned co-angler big-bass honors and $185 in his division with a 3-pound, 9-ounce bass.