TERRELL, N.C. (Feb. 25, 2008) - Boater Alfred Kiesling, Sr. of Mooresville, N.C., won the Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Norman Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces. The victory earned Kiesling $5,032 plus a $888 Ranger contingency bonus 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.
Catching his limit on crankbaits, foggy conditions may have helped Kiesling win his first Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League tournament. When he got to his first spot, near the mouth of a big creek, he caught a 3 ½-pound spotted bass on his first cast, and went on to land a 4 ½-pounder on his second or third cast.
"I caught 12-15 fish on that one spot. I didn't move the boat and just sat and stayed back off of them. It was too hard to believe, really; I'd culled three times at 15 till 8. I caught them in a span of about 30 minutes," he said. "Luckily, that fog and dark conditions made it almost like first light, and we could hardly see when we got there. They were just eating, and some big, big fish had just moved in there to feed, and I got lucky, and the Lord blessed me to catch them."
Rounding out the top five boaters are Darrell Hager of Alexis, N.C. (five bass, 13-07, $2,960); Jason Barnes of Concord, N.C. (five bass, 13-04, $1,974); Matt Haywood of Lincolnton, N.C. (five bass, 12-08, $1,382) and Shane Lineberger of Lincolnton, N.C. (five bass, 11-11, $1,184).
Russell Corry of Rockingham, N.C. took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $980 for a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught fishing docks.
Arthur Brown of Lincolnton, N.C., earned $2,960 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces that he caught fishing docks with a jerkbait.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jamie Denison of Winston Salem, N.C. (four bass, 10-00, $1,480); Steven Spivey of Whiteville, N.C. (five bass, 9-07, $988); Bucky Helms of Dallas, N.C. (five bass, 9-03, $691) and Robert Peaslee of Pulaski, Va. (five bass, 8-15, $592).
Brown earned $490 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass.
North Carolina Division anglers will visit Lake Wylie in Lake Wylie, S.C., April 5 for their second regular-season event, followed by an event on Kerr Lake in Henderson, N.C., May 3. The division's fourth qualifying event will be held on High Rock in Salisbury, N.C., June 21. 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.