BRANDON, Miss. (March 5, 2007) - Boater Mike Hoover of Jackson, Tenn., won the Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division bass fishing tournament on Ross Barnett Reservoir Saturday with a four-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces. The victory earned Hoover $4,626 plus an $816 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. Hoover caught his fish on a Bandit crankbait around lily pad stems in the Horseshoe Lake area.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Danny Walden of Columbus, Miss., (five bass, 16-05, $2,722); Ricky Houston of Marietta, Miss., (four bass, 16-04, $1,814); Reid Sanders of Newton, Miss., (five bass, 15-11, $1,270) and Christopher Eddy of Sandersville, Miss., (five bass, 14-11, $1,089).
Gene Bishop of Madison, Miss., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $865 for a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass.
Glenn Page of Union, Miss., earned $2,469 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to three bass weighing 10 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught while fishing jigs around stumps near Cone Creek.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mickey Ross of Laurel, Miss., (three bass, 10-08, $1,235); Heath Gilmore of Meridian, Miss., (four bass, 9-15, $823); David Andrews of Columbus, Miss., (four bass, 9-04, $576) and Mark Sullivan of Collinsville, Miss., (two bass, 8-11, $494).
Jimmy Tisdale of Ellisville, Miss., earned $372 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching an 8-pound, 7-ounce bass. The Mississippi Division's next event will be April 14 at Bay Springs in New Site, Miss., followed by a tournament May 12 at Tunica in Tunica, Miss. The division's fourth event will be held June 30 on Columbus Pool in Columbus Pool, Miss., and the final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 8-9 on Lake Ferguson in Greenville, Miss.