SUMMERTON, S.C. - Boater Ronnie Watts of Florence, S.C., won the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division bass fishing tournament on the Santee Cooper lakes Saturday with a four-bass catch weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce. The victory earned Watts $4,390 plus a $774 Ranger Bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship in Appling, Ga., Oct. 11-13, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Watts was throwing an array of crankbaits around creek-channel drops and ditches.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Jeremy Talbert of Albemarle, N.C. (three bass, 15-6, $2,582); Eddie Cox of Goose Creek, S.C. (four bass, 14-3, $1,722); Woody Parks of Lincolnton, Ga. (two bass, 11-14, $1,205) and Maurice Freeze of Concord, N.C. (four bass, 11 pounds, $1,033).
Paul Christian of Augusta, Ga. took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $805 for a 10-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Jeff Rikard of Leesville, S.C., earned $2,582 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to four bass weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught while fishing finesse gear over submerged rocks in four to six feet of water.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dean Talbert of Albemarle, N.C. (two bass, 9-2, $1,291); Steve Johnson of Monroe, N.C. (one bass, 7 pounds, $863); Scott Peavy of Lugoff, S.C. (one bass, 6-4, $603) and Chris Howell of Port Wentworth, Ga. (one bass, 6-2, $516).
Johnson also earned an additional $402 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 7-pound bass.
The South Carolina Division's next event will be March 10 on Lake Murray in Prosperity, S.C., followed by tournament May 12 on the Santee Cooper Lakes in Summerton, S.C. The division's fourth event will be held June 9 on Lake Wateree in Camden, S.C., and the final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept, 22-23 on Lake Wylie in Lake Wylie, S.C.
Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Lake Seminole Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the 2008 All-American. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.