PPLING, Ga. (March 3, 2008) - Boater Todd Pearson of Anderson, S.C., won the Bass Fishing League Savannah River Division bass fishing tournament on Clarks Hill Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces. The victory earned Pearson $4,270 plus a $753 Ranger contingency bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Seminole Regional Championship in Bainbridge, Ga., Oct. 16-18, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Pearson caught his bass on a deep-diving crankbait at the mouth of a cove on the main lake points.
"The fish were shallow early," said Pearson. "I was using a stop-and-go retrieve and letting it fall down in the grass. Later in the day, I was catching pockets on a jerk bait where they were suspended in 18- 20 feet of water in the tree tops."
Rounding out the top five boaters are Brent Story of Altanta, Ga. (five bass, 19-11, $2,512); Doug Oellerich of Evans, Ga. (five bass, 18-11, $1,674); Tim Jones of North Augusta, S.C. (five bass, 17-06, $1,172) and Rick Steckelberg of Gainsville, Ga. (five bass, 17-04, $1,005).
Pearson took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $775 for a 9-pound, 9-ounce bass he caught on a crankbait.
Keith Thomasson of Abbeville, S.C., earned $2,512 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught fishing shallow, flat pockets with stumps.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Randall Ertzberger of Inman, S.C. (three bass, 11-06, $1,047); Robbie McHone of Fountain Inn, S.C. (five bass, 11-06, $1,047); Wyman Weeks of Liberty, S.C. (five bass, 9-03, $586) and Jim Morris of Anderson, S.C. (four bass, 8-15, $502).
Matt Deuffel earned $387 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching an 8-pound bass.
Savannah River Division anglers will visit Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C., April 5 for their third regular-season event, followed by an event on Lake Russell in Elberton, Ga., May 3. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Ga., Sept. 6-7.