ALEXANDER, Ala. (March 10, 2008) - Boater Nicholas Turner of Jones, Ala., won the Bass Fishing League Dixie Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Martin Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces. The victory earned Turner $3,990 plus a $704 Ranger contingency bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Wheeler Lake Regional Championship in Decatur, Ala., Oct. 9-11, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
"I caught my fish on an X-Wire spinnerbait, running in the backs of pockets and throwing it in shallow wood," Turner said. "I caught all my big fish in the morning. I didn't catch a fish after dinner-time."
Rounding out the top five boaters are Deron Patrick of Cullman, Ala. (five bass, 13-02, $2,348); Patrick Dobbins of Opelika, Ala. (five bass, 13-00, $1,565); Felton Langley of Lafayette, Ala. (five bass, 12-06, $1,096) and Ronnie McDonough of Birmingham, Ala. (five bass, 12-01, $939).
Dobbins and Langley took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $350 for 5-pound, 9-ounce bass.
Leonard McGuire Sr. of Eclectic, Ala. earned $2,343 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Roger Brown of Tallassee, Ala. (five bass, 9-09, $833); Allen Pair of Leeds, Ala. (five bass, 9-09, $833); Russell Weldon of Tallassee, Ala. (five bass, 9-09, $833) and William (Paul) Jones of Pell City, Ala. (five bass, 8-14, $469).
Edmond Brown of Trion, Ga. earned $345 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a Texas rig.
Dixie Division anglers will visit West Point Lake in Lanett, Ala., May 3 for their third regular-season event, followed by an event on Logan Martin Lake in Pell City, Ala., July 12. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Lay Lake in Columbiana, Ala., Sept. 6-7.