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FLW Tour: Detroit River

FLW Tour Event # 6 of 6

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Day 1: Clapper Leads FLW Tour Event on Detroit River

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DETROIT – Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio, crossed the stage with a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds even to lead day one of the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Chevy Open on the Detroit River. Clapper now holds a 12-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers from 35 states, Canada, Italy, Australia and Japan.

“I didn’t really have a great practice,” said Clapper, who has scored 24 top-10 finishes in Stren Series and Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competition on the Detroit River and Lake Erie since 1997. “I had a couple of areas that had fish on them, but I thought that there would be a lot of people on them.

“I kept trying to find something off the wall a ways away,” Clapper added. “Last week I did more driving than I did fishing. I know there’s something out there I haven’t found yet, but they’re getting tougher and tougher to find.”

Clapper is no stranger to the Detroit River. He has notched five BFL wins on the Detroit River as well as an additional BFL victory on Lake St. Clair. The Ohio angler methodically combed his “stomping grounds” with a drop-shot rig and a tube in dirty water. He focused on areas with depths in the 25-foot range that featured subtle rises. Clapper managed to boat 10 keepers throughout the course of the day.

“I know exactly where they live,” Clapper said. “And if you put it in their face, even when it’s dirty, sometimes you can get them to bite.”

Thomas Moleski of Elkhart, Ind., trails Clapper in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 21-4.

Rounding out the top five pros are Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn. (five bass, 19-5); Eric Struif of Lake Villa, Ill. (five bass, 19-5) and Team BP pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn. (five bass, 19-5).

Chad Morganthaler of Coulterville, Ill., earned the day’s $1,000 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught on a Magic Goby-colored Berkley Gulp! Goby. If that weight holds up Friday as the heaviest of the two-day opening round, Morganthaler will earn an additional $1,000.

Overall there were 817 bass weighing 2,373 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 185 pros Thursday. The catch included 133 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of $200,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 40 pros after six qualifying events will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup.

Also at stake is the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title. Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas, entered the tournament with a 26 point lead on No. 2 angler Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas, but Fukae’s strong showing on opening day could place him in position to win the coveted title. Fukae landed five bass weighing 18-14 to place 10th on opening day while Yelas caught five bass weighing 15-12 to place 46th. If Fukae finishes at least 27 places ahead of Yelas Friday, he will earn his second Angler of the Year title.

Chris Langenfeld of Clinton, Ohio, leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 21-2 followed by Mike Lawrence of Toledo, Ohio, in second place with five bass weighing 20-11.

“This is my first trip out to the Detroit River this year,” said Langenfeld, who has earned two top-10 finishes on the river in BFL competition. Langenfeld was paired with Clapper and caught six keepers on a drop-shot rig. “It’s a real privilege to draw somebody like Clapper. You’re at the mercy of the pro. But this time I lucked out and drew a good one.”

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are James Richardson of Harrison, Ohio (five bass, 20-7); Bill Gift of Alix, Ark. (five bass, 19-3) and Beecher Strunk of Somerset, Ky. (five bass, 19-0).

Langenfeld earned the day’s $500 Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass.

Overall there were 664 bass weighing 1,818 pounds caught by 181 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 79 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $40,000 this week.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 202 Grosse Isle Pkwy. in Trenton, Mich. Friday’s weigh-in also will be held at Elizabeth Park Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Cobo Center located at One Washington Blvd. in Detroit beginning at 4 p.m.

Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Cobo Center from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will receive a free FLW Outdoors hat. On Sunday, the first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a trip for two to the Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., where they could ultimately win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. The drawing for a free vacation getaway to Hot Springs will be held immediately following Sunday’s 4 p.m. weigh-in. Participants must be present to win.

The full field competes in the two-day opening round for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.

Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 26 and Sept. 2 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

Day 2: Clapper Retains Lead on Detroit River

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DETROIT – Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 14 ounces Friday to retain his lead in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s $1.5 million Chevy Open on the Detroit River with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 42-14. He now holds a 1-pound, 11-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 35 states, Canada, Australia, Italy and Japan.

“I went to back to where I caught my stringer yesterday,” said Clapper, who has scored 24 top-10 finishes in Stren Series and Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competition on the Detroit River and Lake Erie since 1997. “I got lucky. I had about 18 pounds at 9 a.m.”

Clapper returned to Lake Erie on the second day of competition and fished new areas after he caught his limit to make a plan for the final two days of the tournament.

“I found an area I had marked and hadn’t fished, and it was loaded with 3-pounders,” Clapper said. “It was incredible. I hadn’t seen that many fish in one spot. I didn’t catch any big ones there, but it kind of seemed like a safety spot, and it was deeper water, and I don’t think it gets touched very much.”

Clapper caught most of his fish 25 feet deep on the first day of competition using a drop-shot rig and dragging a tube. He mirrored the presentation on day two, however, he said the more productive water was around 32 feet deep. Clapper said he managed to land 20 keepers throughout the course of the day.

The Ohio angler said his chances of winning the tournament depend solely on the wind and how it affects fishing on Lake Erie during the final two days of competition.

“I’ve had only six hours of fishing practice on St. Clair,” Clapper said. “And that’s not fishing the way I like to fish. But I may have to go do it.

“I don’t want to hear predictions of wind up to 20 to 30 miles per hour,” Clapper added. “I have areas on St. Clair, but I’m sure not a guru there.”

Team A&W pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind., advanced to the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 41-3.

Rounding out the top five pros who will continue competition Saturday and Sunday are Thomas Moleski of Elkhart, Ind. (10 bass, 40-11); Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn. (10 bass, 39-7); and Team National Guard pro Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz. (10 bass, 38-5).

Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 36 pounds, 12 ounces are Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich.; Christopher King of South Amherst, Ohio; Josh Myers of Chatham, Ontario; Kevin Long of Berkley, Mich.; and Team Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas.

Team Banana Boat pro Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich., earned the day’s $1,000 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass. He also won an extra $1,000 for having the biggest bass of the tournament.

Overall there were 888 bass weighing 2,756 pounds caught by 192 pros Friday. The catch included 155 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of $200,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 40 pros after three $1 million qualifiers and three $1.5 million opens will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup.

Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas, captured his second Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title Friday, edging out Team BP pro Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas, and Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark.

“It’s quite an honor,” Yelas said. “These guys are the best fishermen in the world. When you do the math, I have to realize I won by just a small margin. If one of the fish I’d caught during the year would have weighed half a pound less, Mark or Shin would have won.”

James Richardson of Harrison, Ohio, leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 8 ounces, followed by Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., in second place with 10 bass weighing 35-10.

“We headed to St. Clair this morning,” said Richardson, who was paired with Team Totinos pro Tim Johnson of Dallas, Ga. “As a matter of fact, I could see the same area I fished the day before. The closer we got, the happier I was. I thought, ‘I’m not believing that this is where this guy is going.’”

Richardson started fishing a green pumpkin tube, but as the day progressed, Johnson moved into deeper water and Richardson switched to a drop-shot rig and finished his limit.

“I love it up here,” Richardson said.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Simpson of Dayton, Ohio (10 bass, 34-14); Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss. (10 bass, 33-15) and James Dixon of Southfield, Mich. (10 bass, 33-7).

Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 32 pounds, 13 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Drew Montgomery of Concord, N.C.; Truman White of Myersville, Md.; Ben Felton of Marshall, Mich.; Scott Leo of Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Jason Sherwood of Damascus, Md.

Mike Oberski of Ann Arbor, Mich., earned $500 for the day’s Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass he caught while fishing with pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C.

Overall there were 699 bass weighing 2,056 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 181 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 95 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $40,000 this week.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 202 Grosse Isle Pkwy. in Trenton, Mich. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Cobo Center located at One Washington Blvd. in Detroit beginning at 4 p.m.

Prior to the weigh-ins, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Cobo Center from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will also receive a free FLW Outdoors hat. On Sunday, the first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a trip for two to the Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., where they could ultimately win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. The drawing for a free vacation getaway to Hot Springs will be held immediately following Sunday’s 4 p.m. weigh-in. Participants must be present to win.
 

Day 3: Clapper Leads Open on Detroit River

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DETROIT – Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to retain his lead in the $1.5 million Chevy Open on the Detroit River. Clapper now holds a 2-pound, 14-ounce edge over his closest competitor, Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn., heading into the final day of competition. If he holds on for the win, Clapper will pocket $200,000.

“I went back to where I had been the past two days,” said Clapper, who has scored 24 top-10 finishes in Stren Series and Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competition on the Detroit River and Lake Erie since 1997. “I’m traveling 30 to 35 miles to my spot, and I’m wearing down right now. I’m tired and I’m sore, but I can do it one more day.”

The weather forecast for the last day of competition calls for winds of 6 miles per hour, a welcome forecast for anglers who battled brutal winds and 7-foot waves Saturday.

“I was really concerned about being able to hold (my position) with a short-shaft trolling motor,” Clapper said. “It was an issue, but I could hold it for a while. At the end, I had to have my co-angler step down in the floor because I couldn’t keep it in the water.”

Clapper said he caught his limit by 8:40 a.m. and boated a total of 10 keepers. The fish came from two spots a few hundred yards apart. The spots were subtle rises – rises in 27 feet of water that peaked in 23 feet of water. The rises featured rough, rubbled spots that held the majority of Clapper’s fish.

“My co-angler had a fish on immediately on a darter,” said Clapper, who also started his day fishing with a goby-colored darter. “I went to net his and set the hook myself. His came off, and I landed mine. I picked the tube up, and the rest of the fish came on the tube.

“We started with a ½-ounce weight on the tube, but had to switch to a ¾-ounce weight,” Clapper added.

Clapper fished a goby-colored ISG Intimidator tube on 10-pound line to land the majority of his fish.

Like Clapper, Baksay relied on a tube to catch some of his fish. Unlike Clapper, however, Baksay also used a few other baits en route to catching a limit of smallmouths weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces.

“I’m throwing a tube quite a bit, and I’m drop-shotting quite a bit,” Baksay said. “The sun popped out for 10 minutes today, and I caught my three biggest fish in 15 minutes on a jerkbait.”

Baksay said he fished Lake St. Clair and threw a Mizmo tube in four or five different colors and relied on an unorthodox drop-shotting technique he remained tight-lipped about. The techniques produced 15 keepers for Baksay, and he remained optimistic about his chances for a win.

“We caught seven fish over 5 pounds in practice,” Baksay said. “I’ve had 23 pounds (in one day) out here twice, and my son’s had 22 pounds twice. If I can get two of the 5-pounders to bite, I’ve got a chance. But I’ve got to get them to bite.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros are Team Wal-Mart pro Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich. (five bass, 19-6); Thomas Moleski of Elkhart, Ind. (five bass, 19-5); Kevin Long of Berkley, Mich. (five bass, 18-13); Josh Myers of Chatham, Ontario (five bass, 17-3); Team A&W pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind. (five bass, 16-1); Team Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas (five bass, 15-7); Team National Guard pro Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz. (four bass, 13-11) and Christopher King of South Amherst, Ohio (zero bass, 0-0).

Overall there were 44 bass weighing 163 pounds, 6 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included eight five-bass limits.

Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss., won the Co-angler Division and $40,000 Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces followed by Ben Felton of Marshall, Mich., in second place with five bass weighing 18-5 worth $10,000.

Murphy opened the tournament in 10th place Thursday with five bass weighing 17-6 while fishing with pro Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark. On Friday he jumped into fourth place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 16-9 while fishing with Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Baksay.

“It hasn’t hit me quite yet,” said Murphy, who finally secured his first win after posting 10 FLW Outdoors top-10 finishes. “I’ve tried so hard for so long to get to this point. I keep getting to third base, but I can’t get home. Finally I did it.”

Murphy said he caught all of his fish on the same bait – a Golby-colored Erie Darter by Poor Boys. He was drop-shotting the bait in water from 14 to 21 feet deep.

“It’s just stunning what I’ve accomplished this year,” Murphy said. “I’ve had four tournaments where I finished no worse than 11th and I didn’t win the Co-angler of the Year title. That fact should show people what kind of fishermen fish on the co-angler side of the FLW tournaments.”

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Mike Simpson of Dayton, Ohio (five bass, 18-0, $9,000); Scott Leo of Grand Rapids, Mich. (five bass, 15-14, $8,000); James Richardson of Harrison, Ohio (four bass, 12-14, $7,000); Bill Gift of Alix, Ark. (four bass, 10-11, $6,000); Drew Montgomery of Concord, N.C. (three bass, 9-6, $5,000); Jason Sherwood of Damascus, Md. (four bass, 8-3, $4,000); James Dixon of Southfield, Mich. (zero bass, 0-0, $3,000) and Truman White of Myersville, Md. (zero bass, 0-0, $2,000).

Overall there were 35 bass weighing 112 pounds, 2 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included four five-bass limits.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 Sunday morning from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 202 Grosse Isle Pkwy. in Trenton, Mich., followed by a 4 p.m. weigh-in at the Cobo Center located at One Washington Blvd. in Detroit.

Prior to the final day weigh-in, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Cobo Center from noon to 4 p.m. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a trip for two to the Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, where they could ultimately win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. The drawing for a free vacation getaway to Hot Springs will be held immediately following Sunday’s 4 p.m. weigh-in. Participants must be present to win.

 

Day 4: Clapper Wins Chevy Open on Detroit River

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DETROIT – Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio, caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 45 pounds, 9 ounces to win $200,000 in the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Chevy Open on the Detroit River. Fishing in his first FLW Tour tournament, Clapper topped his closest rival, Kevin Long of Berkley, Mich., by more than 6 pounds to earn the win.

“I started out drop-shotting,” said the 59-year-old Clapper, who led the event all four days of competition and boosted his career FLW Outdoors earnings to more than $308,000 with the victory. “I fished a lot of miscellaneous Berkley Gulp! baits. We also caught fish on Poor Boys Drop Shot Gobies that we put in the Gulp! bags. It’s unbelievable what that Gulp! does.”

Clapper also caught two keepers on a tube, although he opted not to utilize the more common method of dragging the tube on the bottom. When the waters began to calm, Clapper relied on his experience and a few old tricks.

“I told my camera man, ‘It’s slicking off, and I’m going to show you something,’” Clapper said. “The fish were still there, but they didn’t want to bite anything. So I made a long cast and whipped it back three times and killed it. And I had a big dude hit the goby-colored ISG Intimidator tube. It wasn’t because he was hungry, but because it was something going by him real quick – like a jerkbait.”

Long caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 39-7 to claim second place and $75,000.

“I was pretty confident I could make the cut,” Long said. “As far as finishing second, I was pretty surprised, to be honest with you. I was on good fish, I just didn’t know what would happen with the wind.”

Long targeted isolated grass beds on Lake St. Clair and fished tubes to make the cut to the final two days of competition, but relied on a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 jerkbait and a crankbait in as shallow as 4 feet of water – and as much as 18 feet of water – on the final day of fishing.

“Most of my big fish I caught on the jerkbait,” Long said. “I like to get shallow and sight fish, and conditions today were perfect for that. This is the only day we had like that. Steve catches them no matter what, but today was perfect conditions for how I like to fish.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros were Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn. (10 bass, 39-2, $50,000); Thomas Moleski of Elkhart, Ind. (10 bass, 39-1, $40,000); Team A&W pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind. (10 bass, 38-7, $30,000); Team Wal-Mart pro Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich. (10 bass, 37-13, $29,000); Josh Myers of Chatham, Ontario (10 bass, 35-10, $28,000); Team Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas (10 bass, 28-6, $27,000); Christopher King of South Amherst, Ohio (five bass, 18-6, $26,000) and Team National Guard pro Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz. (five bass, 16-15, $25,000).

Overall there were 46 bass weighing 175 pounds, 6 ounces caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included nine five-bass limits.

Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss., won the Co-angler Division and $40,000 Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces followed by Ben Felton of Marshall, Mich., in second place with five bass weighing 18-5 worth $10,000.

Murphy opened the tournament in 10th place Thursday with five bass weighing 17-6 while fishing with pro Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark. On Friday he jumped into fourth place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 16-9 while fishing with Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Baksay.

“It hasn’t hit me quite yet,” said Murphy, who finally secured his first win after posting 10 FLW Outdoors top-10 finishes. “I’ve tried so hard for so long to get to this point. I keep getting to third base, but I can’t get home. Finally I did it.”

Murphy said he caught all of his fish on the same bait – a Golby-colored Erie Darter by Poor Boys. He was drop-shotting the bait in water from 14 to 21 feet deep.

“It’s just stunning what I’ve accomplished this year,” Murphy said. “I’ve had four tournaments where I finished no worse than 11th and I didn’t win the Co-angler of the Year title. That fact should show people what kind of fishermen fish on the co-angler side of the FLW tournaments.”

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Mike Simpson of Dayton, Ohio (five bass, 18-0, $9,000); Scott Leo of Grand Rapids, Mich. (five bass, 15-14, $8,000); James Richardson of Harrison, Ohio (four bass, 12-14, $7,000); Bill Gift of Alix, Ark. (four bass, 10-11, $6,000); Drew Montgomery of Concord, N.C. (three bass, 9-6, $5,000); Jason Sherwood of Damascus, Md. (four bass, 8-3, $4,000); James Dixon of Southfield, Mich. (zero bass, 0-0, $3,000) and Truman White of Myersville, Md. (zero bass, 0-0, $2,000).

Overall there were 35 bass weighing 112 pounds, 2 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included four five-bass limits.
 

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Compiled by Brandon Shook