Despite a 1-pound penalty for two dead fish, Brad Younts of Lexington captured the July 10 Bassmaster Weekend Series N.C. Division 5 event at High Rock Lake with 18.10 pounds.
Younts trudged to the weigh-in site an hour early in an effort to keep his fish alive, but before the bass hit the scales, two had perished in the intense heat.
Younts said his livewell was functioning, and ice and chemicals had been added to try to keep the fish alive, but to no avail.
“I kept checking my livewell because I caught my fish early, but by the afternoon, two fish had turned over on their sides,” said Younts, who decided to quit early because tournament rules forbid anglers from culling dead fish.
Even with the penalty, Younts topped the 58 other participants to take the first-place award of $2,648.
Lexington’s David Wright challenged for the lead but fell short with 17.85 pounds and settled for the second-place prize of $1,324. Wright had seven bites all day, five on crankbaits and two on plastic worms. He culled, keeping his best five bass, all of which were caught in eight feet of water or less.
Jarrett Freeze of Landis ranked third with 16.93 pounds and received $883. Steve Sink of Winston-Salem placed fourth with 16.84 pounds and banked $618. Rodney Sorrell of Stokesdale rounded out the top five with 16.37 pounds and earned $530.
Others in the money were: Jeff Farrell of Garner, sixth with 16.08 pounds and the 6.48-pound big bass for $781; Tommy Jones of Salisbury, seventh with 15.72 pounds for $441; Stephen McLeod of Clemmons, eighth with 15.55 pounds for $397; Tim Grein of High Point, ninth with 15.29 pounds for $353; Gerald Beck of Lexington, 10th with 15.10 pounds for $265; and Marty Nester of Mount Airy, 11th with 14.97 pounds for $256.
Charlotte’s John Russell topped co-anglers with 10.48 pounds and collected $1,324. Nicolas Ross of Lexington finished third with 9.15 pounds, winning $441. Christopher McDougald of Gold Hill took the fourth spot with 9.07 pounds and won $309. Robbie Lane of Granite Falls finished fifth with nine pounds and had the co-angler big fish of the day, a 6.05-pound bass, for a total of $413.
Ninety five percent of the fish caught were released alive from both divisions.
Baldwin wins at Kerr Lake
Chris Baldwin of Lexington won the June 26 FLW Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division event on Kerr Lake with 12 pounds, two ounces, and took home first-prize money of $3,505, plus a $2,000 bonus for the Ranger Cup.
Yadkinville’s Danny Haire fell just short with 12 pounds and earned $1,753 plus $440 for the big fish, a 4-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Mark Robertson of Henderson ranked third with 10-13 and banked $1,169. David Wright took fourth place for $818 with 9-9. David Farrington of Greensboro placed fifth with 9-8 and collected $701.
Completing the top 10 were: Andy Nix of Thomasville, sixth with 8-2 for $643; Larry Inman of Greensboro and Mike McDonald of Randleman, tied for seventh with 8-1 for $555 each; Joseph Davis III of Garner, ninth with 7-15 for $467; and Nathan Webber of Kernersville, 10th with 7-14 for $409.
Raleigh’s Chris Davis placed first among co-anglers with 11-3 and won $1,753.
Other Tarheel State co-anglers placing were: Jamie Baynard of Clayton, third with 7-8 for $585; Anthony Wright of Rocky Mount, fourth with 7-6 for $409; and James Lowery of Wake Forest, fifth with 6-15 for $351.
Baynard claimed the co-angler big-fish prize of $220 with a 4-4 bass.
Wolak wins at Champlain
Dave Wolak of Wake Forest won the July 22-24 Bassmaster Northern Open at Lake Champlain out of Plattsburg, N.Y. His 3-day weight of 54 pounds, one ounce paid $51,429.
“This tournament means more to me than anything in my career,” said Wolak.
“I came up here planning to fish for largemouth thinking that’s what was going to win it, but I started fishing for smallies early on. I made a critical move on Friday because the north wind made me fish shallow. I found a grass mat and whacked ’em. That wind tucked the fish up under there.”
Wolak flipped a jig into the grass to catch most of his fish.
Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro placed third with 52-4 and collected $16,000. Tarboro’s James Way received $1,600 with his 22nd-place finish of 47-8.
BASS TOURNAMENTS
Yadkin Team Tournaments
Tuckertown Lake, June 12
1. Curtis Rollins (Winston-Salem)-Todd Parker (Salisbury), 21.67, $185; 2. Michael-James Bryant, 21.10, $130; 3. Donnie Floyd-Shane Floyd (Lexington), $85. Big fish: Randy Weddington (China Grove)-Ronnie White, 7.12.
High Rock Lake, June 26
1. Ronnie Smith-Randy Weddington (China Grove),18.15, big fish, 5.08 pounds, $352; 3. Bobby Lovings (Salisbury)-Dwight Morgan (Gold Hill), 14.65, $103; 3. John Drew (Gold Hill)-David Horton (Albemarle), 13.87, $85, $103.
Tuckertown Lake, July 17
1. Ron Wolfarth (Oakboro)-Marty Sweeting (Harrisburg), 14.49, and big fish, 4.72 pounds, $352; 2. Shane Floyd-Tony Garitta (Lexington), 10.58, $103; 3. John Drew (Gold Hill)-David Horton (Albemarle), 9.96, $85.
Southern Championship Tournament Trail,
High Rock Lake, July 3
1. Orlando Giles (Lexington)-Joey Musgrave (Southmont), 18.53, $550; 2. Darrell Crumbley-Jason Riggs (Lexington), 17.78, and big fish, 5.60 pounds, $380; 3. Steve Singleton (Seagrove)-Al Needham, 15.70, $110.
American Bass Anglers
NC District 14
Tuckertown Lake, May 29
1. Bob Jennett (Kernersville), 15.72, $360; 2. Tony Vernon (Winston-Salem), 15.70, big fish, 5.58 pounds, $228.
High Rock Lake, June 12
1. Chris Baldwin (Lexington), 17.70, big fish, 7.09 pounds, $259; 2. Daniel Hayworth (Kernersville), 12.84, $64.
Badin Lake, June 26
1. Jeffrey Klein (Lexington), 14.25, $448. Big fish: Bob Jennett (Kernersville), 5.13 pounds, $70.
NC District 16, Kerr Lake, June 12
1. Tommy Marrow, 11.86, $520; 2. Chris Bullock, 11.46, $311; 3. Eddie Glascock, 11.13, and big fish, 3.77 pounds, $218; 4. Kenneth Stivason, 10.63, $78.
Kerr Lake, June 13
1. Kenneth Stivason, 9.71, $360; 2. Chris Bullock, 9.59, $168. Big fish: Anthony Defelice, 4.34 pounds, $60.
NC District 15, Chowan River, June 13
1. Gary Kelm, 14.67, $360; 2. Ronald E. Burt, 10.54, $168. Big fish: Jimmy R. Matthews, 5.77 pounds, $60.
Piedmont Bass Classics
Falls Lake, June 19
1. Stewart Adams (Four Oaks)-John Adams (Benson), 23.64, $755; 2. Joe Langley (Benson)-Brian Fritts(Raleigh), 18.90, $455; 3. Marie Turner (Rougemont)-Buster Seabolt (Dunn), 18.17, $285; 4. Steve Upchurch (Raleigh), 17.71, $185. Big fish: Johnny Wilder (Butner)-Mike Harris (Oxford), 7.50 pounds, $210.
Falls Lake, June 26
1. Joe Langley (Benson)-Brian Fritts (Raleigh), 24.78, $755; 2. Mark Herndon (Bahama)-Jay Garrard (Durham), 23.16, $455; 3. Randy Fisher (Mebane)-Donnie Lowe (Hillsborough), 18.21, $285; 4. Mike Carden-Paul Rigsbee (Timberlake), 18.06, $185. Big fish: Langley-Fritts, 6.54 pounds, $210.
Jordan Lake, July 10
1. Tim Emory (Creedmoor)-Tim Parker (Pittsboro), 19.55, $680; 2. Roy Blackwood-Butch Williams (Pittsboro), 19.19, $405; 3. Todd-Jeff Sumner (Southern Pines), 18.06, $275. Big fish: Brian Fritts-Zach Blalock (Raleigh), 6.80 pounds, $160.
Jordan Lake, July 17
1. Scott Gatten (Cary)-Jamie Baynard (Clayton), 16.02, $625; 2. Ken Wall (Asheboro)-Ben Cannon (Apex), 14.87, $335. Big fish: Tim Emory (Creedmoor)-Tim Parker (Pittsboro), 8.34 pounds, $120.
Adam & Eve Tournaments
Badin Lake, July 17
1. Robert-Leigh Parrish (Albemarle), 19-02, $237.50; 2. John-Samantha Haywood, 18-15, $142.50; 3. Neil McDonald-Pat McAllister, 15-11, and big fish, 5 pounds, 4 ounces, $190.
STRIPED BASS TOURNAMENTS
Tarheel Striper Club
Kerr Lake, July 10
1. Jim Merritt-Mike Daniels, 27.75; 2. Robert Moss-Jerry-Jason Brown, 24.90; 3. Jerry-Patti Sykes, 21.90; 4. David-Debbie Lucas (Randleman), 21.70; 5. Steve Faucette-Dale Rawls-Delton Jones, 14.55; 6. Jay Childress-Butch Hendrix-Steve Loy, 13.90; 7. Mark Unrue-David Wilburn, 13.30; 8. Bobby-Amy Workman (Burlington)-Todd Mason-Mike Jeffreys, 12.45; 9. Kevin-Andrea-Luke Buskirk, 11.55; 10. Ronnie-Ruth Ann Cook, 11.15.
SCHEDULES
Carolina Crappie Association
Entry fee: $150, no membership fee
Oct. 16 at Lake Wateree; Nov. 13 at Jordan Lake; Dec. 18 at Blewett Falls (one-man event, $100 entry fee); Jan. 22 at Lake Wylie; Feb. 19 at High Rock; March 18-19 Classic at Badin/Tillery.
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