CLINTON, Mo. (May 12, 2008) - Boater Ronnie Kane of Gardner, Kan., won the Bass Fishing League Ozark Division bass fishing tournament on Truman Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 16 pounds. The victory earned Kane $3,705 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Ouachita Regional Championship in Mount Ida, Ark., Oct. 23-25, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Danny Burns of Sparta, Mo. (five bass, 15-04, $2,179); Roger Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Mo. (five bass, 15-01, $1,452); Tom Alsop of Overland Park, Kan. (five bass, 14-12, $1,017) and Orville Coleman of Springfield, Mo. (four bass, 13-00, $872).
Darrell Mitchell of Taneyville, Mo., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $625 for a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a black and blue jig.
Stewart Bigelow of Columbia, Mo., earned $2,179 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to four bass weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Eric Brantley of Springfield, Mo. (two bass, 10-00, $1,090); Bud Renkoski of Purdy, Mo. (three bass, 9-08, $725); Bob Liley of Clinton, Mo. (three bass, 7-15, $509) and David Hamilton of Rogers, Ark. (three bass, 7-13, $436).
Brantley earned $312 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught on a black and blue Brush Hog.
The division's fourth qualifying event will be held on Grand Lake in Grove, Okla., June 21. A two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, will be held on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Mo., Sept. 27-28.