TERRELL, N.C. (Feb. 23, 2009) - Boater Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C., won the Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Norman Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 19 pounds. The victory earned Cherry $4,720 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship in Appling, Ga., Oct. 15-17, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Rounding out the top five boaters are John Allen of Concord, N.C. (five bass, 14-3, $2,360); Randy Childers of Anderson, S.C. (five bass, 12-3, $1,574); Rob Digh of Denver, N.C. (five bass, 11-12, $1,101) and Maurice Freeze of Concord, N.C. (five bass, 10-14, $904).
Cherry took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $695 for a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass he caught.
Dean Talbert of Albemarle, N.C., earned $2,288 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 6 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bradley Stain of New Bern, N.C. (four bass, 8-8, $1,144); Steve Lowder of Lynchburg, S.C. (five bass, 8-1, $762); Eddie Cook of Clemmons, N.C. (five bass, 8-0, $534); and Billie Lookabill of Mocksville, N.C. (four bass, 7-7, $458).
Travis Chilcot of Matthews, N.C., earned $332 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 3-pound, 11-ounce bass.
The next North Carolina Division event will be held on the Lake Wylie in Lake Wylie, S.C., March 21.
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 Wal-Mart 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 for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.
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.
In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.