COLUMBUS, Miss. (March 19, 2005) - Pro Matthew Mize of Ben Lomond, Ark., caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 6 ounces to win the EverStart Series Central Division bass fishing tournament on the Columbus Pool of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway near Columbus. He was awarded a fully rigged Ranger 519 VX plus $10,000 cash.
"I was fishing clear water holes on the backside of muddy flats that most of the field wasn't venturing across," Mize said. "I flipped a Zoom Brush Hog and lizard and also threw a spinnerbait and a Senko." Mize caught six keepers Saturday in the Columbus Pool then headed south through the locks and caught three more keepers.
"In practice, I just idled around looking at a lot of areas, and I was able to eliminate a lot of water that I didn't want to fish," Mize said.
Rounding out the top-five pros are Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio (seven bass, 25 pounds, 6 ounces); Will Dupler of Columbus (five bass, 15 pounds, 1 ounce); Bobby Harrell of Biloxi (seven bass, 13 pounds, 6 ounces); and Tommy Hudnall of Prattville, Ala. (seven bass, 12 pounds, 9 ounces).
Shaffer won an additional $1,500 for being the highest Ranger Cup finisher.
Michael Herron of Paris, Texas, caught eight bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces to win the Co-Angler Division and earn a fully rigged Ranger 519 VX boat plus $5,000 for a total of $36,000 in cash and prizes.
"I feel great," Herron said. "The first day I caught bass on a soft-plastic jerkbait, but I caught all the rest of my bass on a Zoom Brush Hog." Herron Texas rigged the Brush Hog on 14-pound fluorocarbon with a 1/4-ounce slip sinker.
"It rained half the day today, but it was much warmer," Herron said. "I thought it was really nice out there today."
Rounding out the top-five co-anglers are Mark Guin of Crossett, Ark. (three bass, 6 pounds, 12 ounces); Mark Taylor of Mansfield, Mo. (three bass, 4 pounds, 9 ounces); Steve Graf of Natchitoches, La. (one bass, 4 pounds, 3 ounces); and Bill Gift of Alix, Ark. (one bass, 3 pounds, 13 ounces).