OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Oct. 2, 2006) - Boater Joseph Kremer of Osteen, Fla., earned 300 points and $5,460 Sunday as the winner of the Bass Fishing League Everglades Division Super Bass Fishing Tournament on Lake Okeechobee. Kremer's two-day winning catch of 10 bass weighed 42 pounds, 8 ounces. He also won the Boater Division Big Bass award with a 7-pound, 11-ounce bass that earning him $712.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Jim Meldon of West Palm Beach, Fl. (nine bass, 28 pounds, 15 ounces, $2,730); Curtis Lewis of West Palm Beach, Fla. (10 bass, 28 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,820); Ken Fitton of Loxahatchee, Fla. (eight bass, 23 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,274); and Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. (10 bass, 22 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,092).
Lewis also won $1,500 as the highest placing Ranger boat owner.
Gene Elliott of Palm Springs, Fla., earned $2,730 as the co-angler winner thanks to nine bass weighing 19 pounds, 11 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jay Trudel of Boca Raton, Fla. (10 bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,365); Shannon Pitts of Vero Beach, Fla. (nine bass, 16 pounds, 5 ounces, $909); Luke Campbell of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (10 bass, 15 pounds, 8 ounces, $637); and Mark Linn of Sarasota, Fla. (seven bass, 14 pounds, 6 ounces, $546).
Tim Simko of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., earned $356 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass.
The top 40 Everglades Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will now advance to the no-entry-fee Regional Championship near Demopolis, Ala., where they will compete against Choo-Choo, Mississippi and Seminole Division anglers for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck in the Boater Division plus six slots in the no-entry-fee 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American.