KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Jan. 14, 2008) - Boater David Givens of Hernando, Fla., won the Bass Fishing League Gator Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Toho Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds. The victory earned Givens $4,508 plus a $795 Ranger contingency bonus 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.
"I fished this area a couple months ago, so I knew where a few hot spots were," said Givens. "I was fishing farther out in deeper water to get staging fish."
Givens caught his limit throwing a Zoom Horny Toad in spawning areas.
Rounding out the top five boaters are William Evans, Polk City, Fla. (five bass, 18-15, $2,652); Donald Dwayne Davis of Summerfield, Fla. (five bass, 18-05, $1,768); J. Nobel Willits of Altamonte Springs, Fla. (five bass, 17-04, $1,238) and Ben Carroll of Kissimmee, Fla. (five bass, 16-07, $1,061).
Carroll took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $835 for an 8-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught on a white jig.
Cory Dixon of Casselberry, Fla., earned $2,652 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces that he caught site fishing near hydrilla with a Bitter Bug bait and Buzz 'n Gator bait.
"This was my first FLW tournament, so it was awesome to win," said Dixon. "We ran about 10 miles and fished three different areas where the fish were biting all day long. I couldn't shake them off my line."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Young of Clewiston, Fla. (five bass, 13-10, $1,326); Edward Abbott of St. Cloud, Fla. (four bass, 12-03, $887); Kenneth Honeycutt of Jacksonville, Fla. (five bass, 11-13, $619) and Adam Trott of Lakeland, Fla. (five bass, 11-04, $530).
Abbott earned $417 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 7-pound, 10-ounce bass on a Zoom Fluke.
Gator Division anglers will visit Harris Chain in Tavares, Fla., Feb. 16 for their second regular-season event, followed by an event on Lake Kissimmee in Lake Wales, Fla., March 8. The division's fourth qualifying event will be held on Harris Chain in Tavares, Fla., April 5. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on the St. John's River in Palatka, Fla., Sept. 20-21.