LAKE WALES, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2009) - Boater Don Demott of Boca Raton, Fla., won the Bass Fishing League Everglades Division bass fishing tournament on the Kissimmee River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 31 pounds, 2 ounces. The victory earned Demott $4,119 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Seminole Regional Championship in Bainbridge, Ga., Oct 22-24, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
"The fishing was exactly what I expected it to be," said Demott. "The water was around 52 degrees and didn't warm up until later to about 56 degrees. It made the fishing slow. Some anglers struggled with the cooler water temperatures."
Demott knew how he was going to fish this tournament after practicing two weeks prior to the tournament. On Friday, he went back and checked a few spots and found the fish were still there. The conditions were similar to when he practiced which made the fish more predictable. "It was all about being in the right place at the right time," Demott said.
Demott caught his limit using a Gambler BB Cricket River Bug on a 65-pound braid and a 4-inch Crawdaddy River Bug with 1-ounce screw-in weight.
"What really made all the difference was my Minn-Kota Fortex 101 Trolling Motor," he said. "It got me into those tighter spots the other anglers couldn't get to."
Rounding out the top five boaters are Kyle Walters of Palm Bay, Fla. (five bass, 24-0, $2,059); James Burdett of Mulberry, Fla. (five bass, 19-10, $1,374); Will Evans of Polk City, Fla. (five bass, 19-4, $961) and Rodney Marks of Tavares, Fla. (five bass, 19-7, $824).
Demott and Jack Hand of St. Cloud, Fla., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, each earning $282.50 for a 9-pound, 5-ounce bass.
Moses Wilson of Clewiston, Fla., earned $2,059 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught on a Yamamoto creature bait.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bruce Bozman of St. Cloud, Fla. (five bass, 15-6, $1,030); Chuck Metheney of Lake Wales, Fla. (five bass, 14-1, $687); Jackie Barber of Cocoa, Fla. (five bass, 13-3, $480); and Dairent Beavers of Belle Glade, Fla. (five bass, 12-10, $395).
Kevin Copple of Lake Wales, Fla., earned $282 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching an 8-pound, 14-ounce bass.
The next Everglades Division event will be held on Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee City, Fla., March 7.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL's 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American.
The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee $2.5 million Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010.