Rod Yoder Wins $25,000 and the ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series Southern Regional Co-angler Title.

Gadsden, AL -- Rod Yoder has reason to smile as the ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series Southern Regional Co-angler Champion. Neely Henry Lake spotted bass provided plenty of fight and excitement during the 3 day tournament held November 2-4, 2006. Rod competed against 135 other co-anglers who all had qualified for the Regional through divisional tournaments held in five different regions. After four divisional tournamets held earlier this year, Rod finished in second place in the overall co-angler standings in the Indy division.

Not only did Rod take home the top prize of $25,000.00 but along with 55 other co-anglers and 56 anglers, he qualifies to travel to the Bassmaster Series National Championship to be held on Lake Guntersville, Alabama in January, 2007. The National championship will have a top prize of $100,000.00 for anglers (boaters) and $50,000.00 for co-anglers (non-boaters).

The first two days of the tournament, all of Rod's catch was caught on a Little Pek Jig with a Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craw on 8# Seaguar CarbonPro line. The third day was spent fishing the current-swept laydowns in the upper end of the lake with a Texas-rigged Baby Paca Craw with a 1/4oz tungsten screw-loc sinker on 15# Seaguar CarbonPro line.

Rod says he owes alot to his first and third day boater partners, Mike Helton, IN and Clint Brownlee, GA. They made the right decisions and put him in front of the fish he needed to win. He also thanks his travel partner Carl Wooton from Bloomington, IN. “I've learned alot fishing with him over the last few years.”