Maiden fishermen win at Falls of Neuse with heavy bag.

Wililams brothers win $8,000 for 21.62-pound limit.

The 99 teams in the April 20 Carolinas Bass Challenge N.C. Division tournament knew they would need a stringer of 20 pounds or more if they wanted to take the top prize at Falls of the Neuse Lake. For the past two weeks, 20-pound stringers have been brought to the scales with startling frequency in other tournaments on the Raleigh-Durham area lake.

Four teams wound up reaching the coveted 20-pound mark, despite a cold front and high winds.

Gerald Williams and David Williams of Maiden topped the field with 21.62 pounds, a haul anchored with a 6.42-pound bass. The two anglers received $8,000.

Brad Staley of Pleasant Garden and James Nance of Denton fell just shy with 21.25 pounds and shared $3,000.

Dennis Reedy of Siler City and Jeffrey Thomas of Broadway finished third with 20.27 and collected $2,000 plus a $5,000 bonus from Skeeter.

Manson’s Jeff Coble and Lexington’s David Wright hit 20 pounds on the nose to take the fourth-place prize money of $1,200.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Billy Bledsoe of Fayetteville and James Baxley of Hope Mills, fifth with 19.98 for $900; Jaime Fajardo of Fuquay-Varina and Josh Hooks of Apex, sixth with 17.15 for $800; Tony Fofi of Spring Lake and Richard Szczerbala of Apex, seventh with 17.13 for $600; Michael Riggs of Timberlake and Doug Stallings of Stem, eighth with 17.05 for $550; Mack Lowe of Indian Trail and Robert Walser of Lexington, ninth with 16.74 for $500; and Chris Johnson and Mike Scott, 10th, with 16.24 for $450, plus a $1,000 big-fish bonus for an 8-pound bass.

OTHER BASS TOURNAMENTS

Ramada Quest Bassmaster Elite
Bull Shoals Lake, Bull Shoals, Ark., April 19-22
1. Jason Christie, Park Hill, Okla., 56-08, $101,500; 33. Hank Cherry (Maiden), 34-15, $10,000.

Fishers of Men East Division
Perquimans River, April 20
1. Kenneth Buchanan-David Buchanan, 25.24, plus 7.25-pound big fish, $1,708; 2. Derek Smithson-Chad Pennell, 18.32, $746; 3. Gerald Murray-Kevin Jones, 17.87, $516; 4. Patrick Seigh-Scott Mummert, 17.08, $236; 5. Scott Cartwright-Anthony Kresicki, 16.15, $162.

Fishers of Men Central Division
Jordan Lake, April 20
1. Steve Upchurch (Raleigh)-Jeff Hodges (Apex), 19.93, $1,618; 2. David-Larry Jacobs, 16.06, $874; 3. Jay Nyce-Mark Sherrer, 14.95, $465; 4. Phil Thalheimer (Raleigh)-Allen Farman (Roxboro), 14.86, $489.50; 5. Tony Barham-Rick Ohlson (Garner), 14.44, $341; 6. Ricky Bridges-Anthony Liles (Youngsville), 11.90, $221; 7. Aaron Stewart-Timothy George tied Vern Fleming (Pittsboro)-Glenn Long, 10.21, $178 each. Big fish: Dale Baggett-Jay Knott, 7.29 pounds, $210.

Yadkin Team Tournaments, High Rock Lake, April 20
1. Todd Shoaf (Linwood)-Thomas Waterhouse (Lexington), 12-00, $325; 2. Howard Bean (Salisbury), 11.79, plus 5.1-pound big fish, $265; 3. Tracy Smith (Lexington)-Eric Moser (Salisbury), 11.29, $85.

Carolina Coach & Marine Monday Night Trail
Lake Norman, April 22
1. Jonathan Foster (Maiden)-Jason Dehart, 14.70, $680; 2. Alfred Kiesling Jr. (Mooresville)-Roger Griffin (Statesville), 14.00, $250; 3. Cliff Kirby (Catawba)-Eddie Black, 13.20, $160; 4. Michael Cloninger-Jerry Scruggs, 10.70, $110.

North Carolina High School State Fishing Championship
Kerr Lake, April 20
1. Joe Edwards-Austin Boyette (East Wake H.S.), 10-10, will advance to Southeast Conference Regional at Lake Lanier; 2. Tyler Dunn-Brandon Matthews (Wilson Beddingfield H.S.), 9-05; 3. Allen Johnson-Ryan Underwood (South Johnston H.S.), 9-02; 4. Jacob Scoggins-Triston Owens (Chase H.S.), 7-13; 5. Zack Bodford-Zack Barefoot (West Forsyth H.S.), 6-10.

Warriors on the Water, Jordan Lake, April 19
1.Will Blanton (Fayetteville)-Dylan Mask (Army), 21.20; 2. Skeet Bennett (Wake Forest)-Rocky Hart (Air Force), 19.85; Ethan Cox (West End)-Jeff Aebischer (Army, Field Artillery Officer), 16.5; 4. Bryan Deaton (civilian)-Andrew Munoz (Army Human Resources), 15; 5. Joe Trinko (Former Army Gold Knight)-Atlantis Johnson (Army Engineer), 14-0. Big fish: Jason Longfellow (Army)-Erik Lentine (Fair Haven, N.J.), 7.20 pounds.

Carolina Anglers Team Trail Spring Final SE
Lake Sutton, April 20
1. Jermey Sullivan-Jamie Pierce, 35.50, and big fish, 7.37 pounds, $1,313; 2. Derrick Wright-Dane Butler, 29.41, $680.

CATFISH TOURNAMENTS

N.C. Catfish Association Tournament Series (NCCATS)
Lake Hickory, April 20
1. Dennis Leonard (Stanley)-Chris Fraley (Mt. Holly), 38.7, $150; 2. Kevin Custer (Statesville)-Omar Edwards (Claremont), 36.0, $60. Big fish:Corey Armes-Jody Stamper, 14.3-pound blue cat*, $70, plus side pot of $120. *First blue cat weighed in at a NCCATS tourney at Hickory.