DECATUR, Ala. (March 27, 2006) Boater Bryan Douglas of Hazel Green, Ala., earned $5,627 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Wheeler for his second consecutive victory. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Choo Choo Division events and featured 182 boaters vying for the win, which earned Douglas 200 points in the Boater Division.
Douglas winning catch of five bass weighed 13 pounds, 13 ounces. He threw Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits on drops and ditches with stumps and other submerged structures to catch his limit. Douglas also won the Choo Choo Divisions first event at Lake Guntersville near Scottsboro, Ala.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Derek Hicks of Rocky Face, Ga. (five bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces, $2,813); Daniel Whitaker of Phil Campbell, Ala. (five bass, 11 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,877); Rick Sanson of Winchester, Tenn. (three bass, 11 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,313) and Harry Smith of Decatur, Ala. (three bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,125).
Sanson also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $910 for a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Brett Woodruff of Moulton, Ala., bested 182 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,813 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught throwing a Rat-L-Trap.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Layne King of Owens Cross Roads, Ala. (three bass, 8 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,407); Mike Ryan of Joppa, Ala., (two bass, 8 pounds, 7 ounces, $938) Dale Carver of Dora, Ala., (three bass, 7 pounds, 1 ounce, $656) and Josh Driver of Hiram, Ga. (four bass, 6 pounds, 3 ounces, $563).
Brett Woodruff also earned $455 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5 pound 15 ounce bass.
The Choo Choo Divisions next event will be held April 29 on Weiss Lake near Centre, Ala., followed by an event on Neely Henry Lake near Gadsden, Ala., June 3. The Choo Choo Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 23-24 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Guntersville near Scottsboro.