Gardner boater wins bass fishing tournament

Boater Ronnie Kane of Gardner won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Ozark Division tournament on Truman Lake on Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 16 pounds.

The victory earned Kane $3,705 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Ouachita Regional Championship Oct. 23-25 in Mount Ida, Ark., where he could win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Rounding out the top five boaters of the tournament were Danny Burns of Sparta, Mo. (five bass, 15 pounds, 4 ounces, $2,179); Roger Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Mo. (five bass, 15 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,452); Tom Alsop of Overland Park (five bass, 14 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,017) and Orville Coleman of Springfield, Mo. (four bass, 13 pounds, $872).

Darrell Mitchell of Taneyville, Mo., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $625 for a 6-pound-3-ounce bass he caught on a black and blue jig.

Stewart Bigelow of Columbia, Mo., earned $2,179 as the co-angler winner with four bass weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Eric Brantley of Springfield, Mo. (two bass, 10 pounds, $1,090); Bud Renkoski of Purdy, Mo. (three bass, 9 pounds, 8 ounces, $725); Bob Liley of Clinton, Mo. (three bass, 7 pounds, 15 ounces, $509) and David Hamilton of Rogers, Ark. (three bass, 7 pounds, 13 ounces, $436).

Brantley also earned $312 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound-4-ounce bass on a black and blue Brush Hog.

The division’s fourth qualifying event will be held June 21 at Grand Lake in Grove, Okla. A two-day Super Tournament, the division’s fifth and final event, will be held Sept. 27-28 on Lake of the Ozarks at Osage Beach, Mo.