LONDON, Ky. (April 30, 2007) - Boater Rusty Smith of Somerset, Ky., won the Bass Fishing League Mountain Division bass fishing tournament on Laurel Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces. The victory earned Smith $3,637 plus a $641 Ranger bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Kentucky Lake Regional Championship in Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 18-20, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Smith caught the majority of his fish mid-lake around treetops and stumps.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Jeff Sandusky of Mount Vernon, Ky., (five bass, 17-2, $2,140); Jack Poindexter of Livingston, Tenn., (five bass, 15-13, $1,426); Billy Murphy of Livingston, Tenn., (five bass, 14-6, $998) and Jeff Carman of Liberty, Ky., (five bass, 14-3, $856).
Milton Hammons of Burgin, Ky., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $605 for a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass.
Trent Adkins of East Bernstadt, Ky., earned $2,140 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces that he caught while slow-rolling a spinnerbait on the main lake and in pockets.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dwight Coontz of Stanford, Ky., (five bass, 14-7, $1,070); Marshall Todd of Harrodsburg, Ky., (five bass, 13-8, $712); Jeff Beekman of Piketon, Ohio, (four bass, 11-3, $499) and John Cook of Jamestown, Tenn., (three bass, 11-0, $428).
Wesley Bruner of Corbin, Ky., earned $302 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass.
The Mountain Division's next event will be June 9 on Barren River in Glasgow, Ky. The final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 15-16 on Barren River in Glasgow.