HENDERSON, N.C. (May 5, 2008) - Boater William Kemp of Scotland Neck, N.C., won the Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Kerr Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces. The victory earned Kemp $4,352 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Cherokee Lake Regional Championship in Morristown, Tenn., Oct. 16-18, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
"It was kind of a tough bite," Kemp said. "Most of them were about 2-pound fish. I had nine rods on the deck, and I caught fish on about every rod I had out."
Kemp's five best fish were caught on a spinnerbait, flipping or on topwater. He hooked 18-20 keepers for the day on the lower end of the lake, from the Nutbrush Creek to Eastland Creek area.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Maurice Freeze of Concord, N.C. (five bass, 14-04, $2,133); David Wright of Lexington, N.C. (five bass, 14-04, $2,133); Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, N.C. (five bass, 13-15, $1,195) and Chris Baldwin of Lexington, N.C. (five bass, 13-13, $1,024).
Poteat took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $790 for a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught on a jig in the bushes.
Ken Fender of Dallas, N.C., earned $2,561 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces that he caught on a jig and a floating worm.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Michael Davis of New London, N.C. (five bass, 10-06, $1,280); John M. Cook of Matthews, N.C. (four bass, 9-15, $726); Bobby Henderson of Charlotte, N.C. (five bass, 9-15, $726) and Zach Lyles of Mooresville, N.C. (four bass, 9-13, $512).
Justin Burleson of Albemarle, N.C., earned $395 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass he caught on a spinnerbait while fishing bushes.
North Carolina Division anglers will visit Lake High Rock Lake in Salisbury, N.C., June 21 for their fourth regular-season event. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Lake Norman in Terrell, N.C., Sept. 13-14.