Reid Dedicates Win to Grandfather
By Mike Whatley
April 18, 2009, Milledgeville, Ga. USAF SSgt Michael Reid, of Perry, GA, took top honors at the  third qualifying event of the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series this weekend, dedicating the win to his Grandfather who passed suddenly just a week prior to the tournament. Reid, who is a career serviceman stationed out of Warner Robbins AFB, is on a temporary duty assignment in FL as a C130 Crew Chief and had to travel all night on Friday, foregoing any practice time, to make the event. His First Place victory earned him the guaranteed $5,000 purse plus 200 points toward his qualifying for the Year-end Championship worth over $200,000 and a slot in the prestigious “Bassmaster Classic”.
Not having a chance to practice, and with Lake Sinclair sporting heavily muddied waters from all of the recent rains in the area, Reid put his knowledge of the lake and post spawn conditions to good use. The majority of his fish came out of very shallow water. So shallow in fact, you would have thought their backs would be out of the water, especially the 7.02 pound kicker that anchored Michael`s limit. Reid used a Texas Rigged Junebug Speed Worm and Big Daddy Craw creature bait to boat his winning sack and placed extra importance on the Vicious Ultimate 20 pound test line he was tying to. The big bass ran straight into a brush pile when she felt the hook and Michael was concerned that he would not get her back out, but the line showed it’s true value to Reid when he was able to muscle her back out successfully. Michael is also eligible for an additional $500 in Triton Gold Contingencies for participating in the program. His total earnings for the weekend comes to $5,760 including the $260 Big Bass money.
The remaining top 5 Boaters were Second Place, Walter Green of Milledgeville, GA (5 bass, 14.86 pounds, $1205), Third Place, David Huie of Dallas, GA, (5 bass, 12.86 pounds, $803), Fourth Place, Danny White of Milledgeville, GA, (5 bass, 12.77 pounds, $562) and Fifth Place, Jerry McClure of McDonough, GA, (5 bass, 12.52 pounds, $482).
On the  Co-Angler side, Griffin, GA angler, Phillip Johnson bested the rest of the Co-Angler field by weighing a 3 fish limit of 8.62 pounds of largemouth bass. The sack was topped off by the Co-Angler Big Bass, a post spawn beauty that tipped the scales at 6.17 pounds. Johnson used a homemade double willow leaf spinner bait in red and chart/white to catch his limit and was very appreciative to his boater partner for the work he put in to finding fish. Phillip cashed in $1158 for his first place finish and an additional $125 for having the Big Bass for the Co-Anglers.
The remaining top five Co-Anglers were Second Place, Ricky Young of Cleveland, GA, (3 bass, 8.21 pounds, $579), Second Place, Jason Metz of Temple, GA, (3 bass, 8.04 pounds, $386), Fourth Place, James Draffin of Cumming, GA, (3 bass, 5.49 pounds, $270) and Fifth Place, Larry Pearson of Albany, GA, (3 bass, 4.85 pounds, $232)
The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series, Georgia, Division 8 anglers will come together for the fourth and final qualifying event for this division on June 6, launching from Highland Marina Resort on West Point Lake in LaGrange, Ga. The deadline to register for this event and avoid any late entry fees is May 27, 10 days prior to the tournament.
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