Grein climbs high on Smith Mountain

ATHENS, Ala. – Tim D. Grein cranked to win the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series, operated by American Bass Anglers, Virginia Division 19 tournament, held June 9, 2012, on Smith Mountain Lake.

Running out of Parkway Marina near Hardy, the 32-year-old angler from Winston Salem, N.C., caught five bass weighing 14.04 pounds with a 3.23-pound kicker.

“I fish this lake about 10 to 12 times a year,” Grein said. “In practice, I caught some fish deep. In the tournament, I caught some fish early on top. I had a limit by 7:30 a.m. After that, I pulled out a crankbait and culled about four times. The fish stopped biting at 10:30 a.m. when all the pleasure boaters came out. The big fish hit a crankbait.”

In second for the boaters, Thomas Wooten of Huddleston, Va., brought in a five-bass limit weighing 13.20 pounds with a 4.32-pound kicker. Brad Weese of Petersburg, W. Va. followed with five bass going 12.05 pounds, but brought in the tournament lunker, a 4.65-pounder. John “Ricky” R. Bomar of Lynchburg, Va., finished fourth among the boaters with five bass and 10.34 pounds. Joel Eberts of Powhatan, Va., wrapped up the top five boaters with five bass at 10.10 pounds.

In the Co-Angler Division, Timothy Reams, 23, of Oakland, Md., won with three bass going 7.01 pounds.

“I have never fished the lake before,” Reams revealed. “I didn’t even get to practice on the lake. In the morning, we went on a topwater search, but that didn’t work very well. After that, we started fishing points in four to six feet of water with crankbaits and that worked pretty well. I culled about four times.”

John Wells of Nashville, Tenn., took second with three bass at 5.97 pounds, followed by Lamar Spade of Brodheadsville, Pa., with a three-bass division limit weighing 5.91 pounds including a 2.78-pound kicker. Kevin Hensley of Clarksville, Va., landed in fourth place with three bass and 4.40 pounds.

David L. Allen of Locust Grove, Va., only lipped one keeper, but his 4.02-pounder took division big bass honors and fifth place among the co-anglers.

For more information on this tournament, call Gary Conner at (256) 230-5627 or ABA at (888) 203-6222. On line, see www.americanbassanglers.com.

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