APEX, N.C. (March 27, 2006) - Boater Wally Szuba of Cary, N.C., earned $4,279 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on Jordan Lake. The tournament was the second of five regular-season North Carolina Division events and earned Szuba 200 points in the Boater Division.
Szuba's winning catch of five bass weighed 25 pounds, 3 ounces. He threw a combination of crankbaits and spinnerbaits around riprap in 3 to12 feet of water to catch his limit.
Rounding out the top five boaters are John Wagner Jr. of Archdale, N.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 10 ounces, $2,140); Marcus Tucker of Winston Salem, N.C. (three bass, 15 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,426); Ramon Stockham of Greensboro, N.C. (three bass, 13 pounds, 1 ounce, $998) and Greg Sapp of Pleasant Garden, N.C. (three bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces, $856). John Wagner Jr. also took home $500 for taking part in the Ranger Cup Contingency award that pays $1,000 to the first place boater or $500 to the highest finishing Ranger Boat owner within the tournament field.
Tucker also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $605 for a 8-pound, 9-ounce bass.
Gordon Smith of Lake Wylie, S.C., earned $2,140 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught on a jig around rocky shorelines.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dan Glosson of Rougemont, N.C. (two bass, 15 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,070); Fred Reid of Granite Falls, N.C., (two bass, 10 pounds, 15 ounces, $712) Joseph Butler of Charlotte, N.C., (three bass, 10 pounds, 9 ounces, $499) and Jamie Denison of Winston Salem, N.C. (two bass, 9 pounds, 9 ounces, $428).
David Cook of Clemmons, N.C., earned $302 as the co-angler big-bass award winner, thanks to a 9-pound bass.
The North Carolina Division's next event will be held April 22 on Kerr Lake near Henderson, N.C. The fourth event will be held June 10 on High Rock Lake near Salisbury, N.C., and the North Carolina Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 9-10 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Hickory near Hickory, N.C.