LAKE WALES, Fla. (April 21, 2008) - Boater Gary Niemi of Lake Placid, Fla., won the Bass Fishing League Everglades Division bass fishing tournament on the Kissimmee River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 23 pounds. The victory earned Niemi $2,986 plus a $527 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.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Scott Paul of Lakeland, Fla. (five bass, 22-06, $1,757); Darrell Davis of Dover, Fla. (five bass, 15-00, $1,172); Jack Hand of St. Cloud, Fla. (five bass, 14-05, $820) and Christopher Lane of Lakeland, Fla. (five bass, 13-14, $703).
Paul took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $450 for a 10-pound, 11-ounce bass he caught on a 7-inch worm.
Robert Wood of Jupiter, Fla., earned $1,753 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to four bass weighing 13 pounds, 9 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mark Linn of Sarasota, Fla. (five bass, 9-12, $730); John Maschenik of Lake Placid, Fla. (five bass, 9-12, $730); David Lepsic of Haines City, Fla. (five bass, 9-01, $409) and Keith Scragg of Manalapan, Fla. (three bass, 8-03, $351).
Wood earned $220 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass.
A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee City, Fla., Sept. 27-28.