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Plant City Angler Hooks Hefty Prize

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By GEORGE WILKENS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 6, 2009

PLANT CITY - A local angler won the recent Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Gator Division tournament on the Kissimmee River.

Jeremy Smith's Jan. 24 victory earned him $6,875 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for October's regional championship in Georgia and a chance to win a new Ranger boat and Chevrolet truck.

Smith's catch of five bass had a combined weight of 28 pounds, 12 ounces.

Smith's total win included a $2,000 bonus because he owns and fishes from a Ranger boat, and $595 for landing the biggest bass of the tourney, 9 pounds, 11 ounces.

The winning fish were caught on a Rat-L-Trap and a Yo-Zuri lipless crankbait.

Smith has lived in Plant City since he was 17 and began fishing at 10. "My dad got me involved in a thing called Bass-N-Buddies. That first year I did fairly well. I've been hooked ever since," Smith said.

Smith, 32, an assistant manager of the industrial refrigeration department of Publix Super Markets, fishes in tournaments statewide. Previous wins include club tournaments, such as Extreme Bass competitions in Central Florida.

Smith anticipates competing in the three-day Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship in Martinez, Ga. "I've pretty much made it every year," he said of the Georgia contest. Two years ago he fished in the regional competition, finishing 14th. "I think I can do well" this fall, he said.

For the Kissimmee River contest, the air temperature impacted Smith's strategy.

"Watching The Weather Channel, I knew it had been cold all week," he said. "I just had a thought in my mind that the fish would pull out in deeper water."

Smith caught eight fish between takeoff hours and lunchtime, kept the best five and "didn't have to fish anymore, so I put my pole down and tried to help my co-angler catch his limit."

A Palm Bay man finished second, winning $2,136 for five bass totaling 26 pounds, 13 ounces.

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