DECATUR, Ala. (April 30, 2007) - Boater Brian Haynes of Hollywood, Ala., won the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division bass fishing tournament on Wheeler Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned Haynes $4,177 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.
Haynes caught his bass on spinner bait targeting the river channel.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Danny Buckner of Woodville, Ala., (five bass, 22 pounds- 10 ounces, $4,177); Tim Hurst of Oxford, Ala., (five bass, 14 pounds-12 ounces, $2,458); Clark Smith Jr. of Pell City, Ala., (five bass, 13 pounds - 4 ounces, $1,147) and Keith Buterbaugh of Douglasville, Ga., (five bass, 12 pounds-14 ounces, $983).
Haynes took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $750 for a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass.
Steve Briscoe of Odenville, Ala., earned $2,458 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 24 pounds, 3 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chad Wynn of Athens, Ala., (five bass, 14 pounds-5 ounces, $1,229); Shawn Lolley of Hayden, Ala., (five bass, 12 pounds-9 ounces, $817); Josh Fordham of Glencoe, Ala., (five bass, 11 pounds-9 ounces, $573) and David Barlow of Temple, Ga., (five bass, 10 pounds-11 ounces, $492).
Briscoe, earned $375 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass.
The Choo Choo Division's next event will be May 19 on Weiss Lake in Cedar Bluff, Ala. The division's fourth event will be held June 16 on Neely Henry in Gadsden, Ala., and the final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 22-23 on Guntersville Lake in Scottsboro, Ala.