SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (March 3, 2008) - Boater Jeff Sparks of Chickamauga, Ga., won the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Guntersville Saturday with a four-bass catch weighing 24 pounds, 3 ounces. The victory earned Sparks $5,100 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.
"There weren't a lot of fish," said Sparks. "They were really scattered, just in staging spots about 8 or 10 feet deep." Sparks stayed in the Goose Pond area all day fishing grass lines with a big Rat-L-Trap.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Bryan Douglas of Hazel Green, Ala. (five bass, 23-15, $3,000); John Pearson of Perry, Ga. (five bass, 23-11, $2,000); Marshall Deakins of Dunlap, Tenn. (five bass, 22-06, $1,400) and Davey Lance of Hartselle, Ala. (five bass, 22-04, $1,200).
Sparks took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $1,000 for a 8-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught on a Shad Rat-L-Trap.
Ryan Ollard of Pell City, Ala. earned $3,000 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 26 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught in deep grass.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Andrew Hamilton of Florence, Ala. (five bass, 18-04, $1,500); Benjie Allen of Scottsboro, Ala. (five bass, 18-00, $850); Herbert Bradshaw of Oliver Springs, Tenn. (five bass, 18-00, $850) and Jason Pasley of Kingston, Ga. (five bass, 17-11, $600).
Tony Anderson of Unionville, Tenn. earned $500 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 9-pound, 2-ounce bass he caught on a jig.
Choo Choo Division anglers will visit Weiss Lake in Cedar Bluff, Ala., March 22 for their second regular-season event, followed by an event on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., April 19. The division's fourth qualifying event will be held on Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Ala., June 21. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Lake Guntersville in Scottsboro, Ala., Sept. 20-21.