BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (June 9, 2008) - Boater Bruce Mathews of New Albany, Ind., won the Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Monroe Saturday with a four-bass catch weighing 14 pounds,11 ounces. The victory earned Mathews $3,305 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.
"I caught my fish on a Scum Frog over brush in about 3 feet of water," Mathews said. "I caught them all in the Saddle Creek or Crooked Creek areas." Rounding out the top five boaters are Ladd Kitchel of Flora, Ind. (five bass, 14-02, $1,944); Ryan Deal of Haubstadt, Ind. (five bass, 13-09, $1,297); Calvin Davidson of Plainfield, Ind. (five bass, 13-03, $907) and Stu Moyer of Indianapolis, Ind. (three bass, 12-13, $778).
Jeff Hebert of Greenwood, Ind., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $525 for a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught on green-pumpkin jig.
Rod Yoder of West Lafayette, Ind., earned $1,944 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to three bass weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces that he caught on a jig.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dan Schlegel of Cincinnati, Ohio (two bass, 7-15, $972); Jerry Loveless of Greenfield, Ind. three bass, 5-09, $649); Michael Sheckells of English, Ind. (two bass, 5-08, $454) and Kevin Napier of Hawesville, Ky. (two bass, 5-04, $389).
Charlie Baldwin of Bunker Hill, Ind., earned $262 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a smoke-colored tube in bushes in 10 feet of water.
Hoosier Division anglers will visit the Ohio River in Tell City, Ind., June 28 for their third regular-season event, followed by an event on the Ohio River in Evansville, Ind., July 26. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on the Ohio River in Tell City, Ind., Sept. 6-7.