ST. MARYS, Ohio (June 9, 2008) - Boater Jim Neumaier of Greenville, Ohio, won the Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division bass fishing tournament on Grand Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces. The victory earned Neumaier $3,727 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Kentucky and Barkley Lakes Regional Championship in Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 2-4, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Neumaier used a jig, spinnerbait and crankbait to catch his limit.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Jay Jeffries of Celina, Ohio (four bass, 10-09, $2,193); Jeff Rain of St. Marys, Ohio (five bass, 8-13, $1,463); Sean Sink of Huber Heights, Ohio (five bass, 8-08, $1,023) and Whitney Stephens of Piketon, Ohio (three bass, 8-06, $877).
Jeffries took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $620 for a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught flipping a Yamamoto Senko. David Calebaugh of Parkersburg, W.Va., earned $2,193 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to three bass weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught on a 3-inch pumpkin seed and chartreuse tube.
"I caught my fish in the canal," Calebaugh said. "My boater was flipping a bank, so I decided to flip on the other side in about 3 to 4 feet of water, because the fish were off the bank a little bit. My partner didn't have any tubes, so after I caught about three fish, I reached in my bag and threw him a handful, and he caught three keepers."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Geisler of Oxford, Ohio (four bass, 6-06, $1,096); Shawn Sprankel of Zanesville, Ohio (four bass, 5-10, $730); David Leggett of Beaver Creek, Ohio (four bass, 5-03, $512); Michael Cavey of Columbus, Ohio (four bass, 5-02, $420) and Steve Sorrell of Beavercreek, Ohio (three bass, 5-02; $420).
Don Wiggins of Cincinnati, Ohio, earned $310 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound bass he caught flipping a Gambler Ugly Otter. Buckeye Division anglers will visit the Ohio River in Carrollton, Ky., Aug. 2 for their third regular-season event, followed by an event on the Ohio River in Maysville, Ky., Aug. 23. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg, Ind., Sept. 20-21.