CENTRE, Ala. (May 1, 2006) Boater George Crain of Cropwell, Ala., earned $5,368 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division bass fishing tournament on Weiss Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Choo Choo Division events and featured 170 boaters vying for the win, which earned Crain 200 points in the Boater Division.
Crains winning catch of five bass weighed 18 pounds, 11 ounces. He threw a combination of buzzbaits and crankbaits in shallow water. Crain also took the Boater Division big-bass award with a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Rounding out the top five boaters were Steve Burchfield of Rainbow City, Ala. (five bass, 16 pounds, 4 ounces, $2,684); T. Jay Smith of Fort Payne, Ala. (five bass, 16 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,789); Jay Kendrick of Ooltewah, Tenn. (five bass, 16 pounds, 1 ounces, $1,253); and Clark Smith Jr. of Pell City, Ala., (five bass, 15 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,074).
David Bailey of Leoma, Tenn., bested 170 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,648 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were, tied for second, Tim Cummings of Waynesboro, Tenn. and Steven Holt of Tuscumbia, Ala. (five bass, 11 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,117); Corey Bradley of Chattanooga, Tenn., Gerald Cornwell, of Ooltewah, Tenn., and Eric Stewart of Calhoun, Ga. tied for third place (five bass, 10 pounds, 12 ounces, $551); and Dale Carver of Dora, Ala. (five bass, 10 pounds, 11 ounces, $447).
Bradley also earned $422 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass.
The Choo Choo Divisions next event will be held June 3 on Lake Neely Henry near Gadsden, Ala., followed by the divisions two-day Super Tournament on Lake Guntersville near Scottsboro, Ala., Sept. 23-24.