MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (Feb. 25, 2008) - Boater Jeff Norris of Newborn, Ga., won the Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Sinclair Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce. The victory earned Norris $4,926 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Murray Regional Championship in Columbia, S.C., Oct. 23-25, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck. Norris fished rocks, edges and docks with a white ChatterBait to catch his limit.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Ray Odum, Jr. of Douglas, Ga. (five bass, 13-08, $2,898); Mike Robinson of Acworth, Ga. (five bass, 10-14, $1,934); Tommy Hensley of Jackson, Ga. (five bass, 10-13, $1,352) and Stew Medlin of Atlanta, Ga. (five bass, 9-13, $1,159).
Odum took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $945 for a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a crankbait.
Jim Lovelace of Leesburg, Ga., earned $2,898 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to four bass weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces that he caught using a soft plastic lizard in the grass.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Brady Whitehead of Danielsville, Ga. (two bass, 6-15, $1,449); Don Griffin of Roswell, Ga. (five bass, 6-08, $967); Shane Byrom of Newnan, Ga. (three bass, 6-06, $676) and Terry Blaxton, Jr. of Columbus, Ga. (five bass, 6-04, $555).
Whitehead earned $472 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound bass he caught skipping docks.
Bulldog Division anglers will visit Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Ga., March 29 for their second regular-season event, followed by an event on Lake Oconee in Buckhead, Ga., April 19. The division's fourth qualifying event will be held on West Point Lake in Lanett, Ala., May 17. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Ala., Sept. 13-14.