BRANDON, Miss. (March 17, 2008) - Boater Gene Brown of West Point, Miss., won the Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division bass fishing tournament on Rose Barnett Reservoir Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 8 ounces. The victory earned Brown $4,363 plus a $769 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.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Kenny Churchill of Jackson, Miss. (five bass, 16-05, $2,566) Jason Hannah of Forest, Miss. (five bass, 12-15, $1,710); Roger Stegall of Iuka, Miss. (five bass, 12-00, $1,198) and Shannon Denson of Brandon, Miss. (five bass, 11-08, $1,027).
Steve Jones of Moss Point, Miss., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $800 for a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass.
Ray Higginbotham of Brooksville, Miss., earned $2,566 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Fred Schoenrock of Forkland, Ala. (three bass, 11-00, $1,283); Greg Hamblin of New Albany, Miss. (three bass, 10-12, $855); Sammy Mitchell of Russellville, Ala. (two bass, 8-14, $599) and Clint Holland of Millington, Tenn. (three bass, 8-04, $513).
Schoenrock earned $400 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 7-pound bass.
Mississippi Division anglers will visit Tom Bigby/JP Coleman in Iuka, Miss., April 12 for their second regular-season event, followed by an event on the Columbus Pool in Columbus, Miss., May 17. The division's fourth qualifying event will be held on Tunica Lake in Tunica, Miss., June 14. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Lake Ferguson in Greenville, Miss., Sept. 6-7.