GOLCONDA, Ill. (July 16, 2007) - Boater Jason Thomas of Mount Vernon, Ill., won the Bass Fishing League Illini Division bass fishing tournament on the Ohio River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 11 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned Thomas $3,599 plus a $635 Ranger Boat contingency bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Mississippi River Regional Championship in Fort Madison, Iowa on Oct. 4-6, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Thomas pitched shallow laydowns with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver lure at the lower end of the lake to get his big catches.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Jay Peterson of Clinton, Ill. (five bass, 11-09, $2,118); Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo. (five bass, 9-08, $1,413); Larry Frasier of Owensboro, Ky. (five bass, 9-04, $988); Randy Spurlock of Vienna, Ill. (five bass, 9-03, $811) and John W. Wright of Dieterich, Ill. (four bass, 9-03, $811).
Keith Bailey of Simpson, Ill., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $590 for a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Scott Ham of Palestine, Ill., earned $2,118 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces that he caught while fishing a jig-and-pig in shallow parts of the creek.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bradley Smith of Troy, Ill. (four bass, 8-05, $1,059); Michael McAtee of Waverly, Ky. (four bass, 8-02, $706); Terry Marucco of Decatur, Ill. (five bass, 7-08, $494) and Randy Schultz of Crescent City, Ill. (five bass, 7-05, $424).
Tom Oxford of Elizabethtown, Ill., earned $295 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass. The Illini Division's next event will be Aug. 11 on Lake Shelbyville in Findlay, Ill. The final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 8-9 on the Ohio River in Golconda, Ill.