CEDAR BLUFF, Ala. (May 19, 2003) - Blaine Shelton of Moulton claimed $4,746 as the winner of the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division's third regular-season bass fishing tournament, held on Weiss Lake near Cedar Bluff. Shelton led the field of 187 boaters with a five-bass catch weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces. Shelton caught his bass Saturday pitching a trick worm in the grass.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Larry Bingham of Birmingham (five bass, 15 pounds, 10 ounces, $2,373); Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn. (five bass, 15 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,613); James Kennedy of Boaz (five bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,234); and Vic Porter of Florence (five bass, 14 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,044).
Bingham claimed a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.
Greg Gilley of Boaz topped 187 Co-angler Division competitors with a five-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces that he caught flipping a buzzbait in shallow grass. Gilley earned $2,373 for the win.
Finishing second was Roy Holmes of Rome, Ga., with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces worth $1,186. Jerry McCafferty of Muscle Shoals finished third with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces that earned him $807. Tied for fourth place were Jason Khym of Maryville, Tenn., and Dallas McElroy of Rainbow City with a five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces. Each received $569 for their catch.
Shelton and Cory Carroll from Canton, Ga., tied for boater big-bass honors with a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass. Each earned $467 for their big bass. Holmes earned co-angler big-bass honors and $468 in his division with a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass.