WON BASS

LAS VEGAS, NV. The Miller High Life WON BASS Tour in the South Region wrapped up Sunday at Lake Mead with Mike Baldwin of Mohave Valley, AZ, gaining his first WON BASS win after several second place finishes over the years.

"I really went into this tournament going for the win as I didn't fish enough tournaments to qualify for the Western Classic. And thanks to couple of great partners, we had good weights both days,"said Baldwin.

"I had four points to fish in the Overton area and I just kept working them over and over. We only had 7 bass the first day and 6 today,"he said at the awards ceremonies. "But they were all good fish, including Joe UribeÕs big fish on Saturday."

Baldwin goes home with the $35,000 first prize of a Ranger 518VX boat and trailer with a 175 Mercury outboard, Exide Stowaway batteries, MotorGuide trolling motor and Lowrance Electronics. He totaled 25.19 pounds and won the tournament by 4.31 pounds over second place. He caught of his fish on 4-inch brown/chartreuse Robo Zipper Jr. plastic worms.

Second place in the field of 107 Pros went to Scott Nielsen of Salt Lake City, Utah, with 20.88 pounds and won $5,750. Third place and $4,500 was taken by Jim Gomez of Lemon Grove with 20.16 pounds, while fourth place went to Tom Hennies of Ramona with 20.09 pounds, and $3,500 for his efforts.

In the AAA Division, Ron Goldshine of Los Angeles topped the field of 107 AAA anglers with 20.65 pounds, winning $1,250. Second place was taken by Chris Stinnett of Vista with 18.74 pounds, good for $1,000. Third place went to Tom Elliott of Downey with winnings of $700 for 18.25 pounds.

The largest bass of the tournament was taken on Sunday by AAA Dan Osgood of Escondido, 5.45 pounds, and it won him $1,500 in the daily Miller High Life Big Bass Award. Uribe had a 3.55 pounder on Saturday to also win $1,500.

The season capper also determined the top 25 Pro and 25 AAA anglers who qualify for the Western Classic, to be staged in November at Lake Havasu. They join 25 Pros and 25 AAAs in the championship fish-off.

John Morrow of Placentia held onto his lead in the South with 495 points accumulated in the four tournaments. John Murray of Phoenix, AZ, finished second with 489 points, while Byron Velvick of Boulder City, NV, and Mike Folkestad of Yorba Linda tied for third place with 473 points.

These four anglers will join the top three from the North in seeking the prestigious Daiwa Cup finals staged within the Western Classic.

The Ranger Cup was decided at this tournament also, with Cameron Karber of Phoenix, AZ, winning that title, a $1,000 bonus, plus a $5,000 trip to a Canadian fishing resort next summer.