ALABAMA ANGLER WINS TRITON GOLD ELITE FISH-OFF

Derrick Millirons parlayed the five dollars he paid for a Suspending Fat Free Shad crankbait into $40,000 by using it to win the first annual Triton Gold Elite tournament, held June 23 at Kentucky and Barkley lakes, Ky.

Millirons, of Seale, Ala., cranked a shallow ledge on Lake Barkley to catch four bass weighing 11.91 pounds. "The bass were holding about five feet deep, and they struck the crankbait as it was digging along the bottom," he said.

Second place winner Blaine Shelton of Moulton, Ala., weighed in 11.08 pounds and pocketed $10,000. Third place, $5,000, went to Skip Sjobeck of Randolph Center, Vt., who boated 10.88 pounds.

Thirty-one Triton owners competed for a total of $80,000 cash in the Gold Elite Fish-Off. They qualified for the event by winning a tournament sanctioned by the Triton Gold rewards program during the past calendar year.

"The Triton Gold program was conceived as a way to reward grass-roots Triton owners, folks who fish local and regional weekend bass tournaments, for their fishing skill and loyalty to our brand," explained Triton Boats president Earl Bentz. "The program pays a cash reward of up to $3,000 to Triton owners who win first place in sanctioned tournaments including BASS Federation and Open events. During the past 12 months alone, the Triton Gold program sanctioned over 2,000 tournaments and paid their winners a total of $44,000 in cash bonuses. Triton's Gold Elite Fish-Off is the first event in the fishing industry to bring all these reward winners together in an entry-free format to compete for some serious money."

Ray Scott, founder of the BASS and credited with creating the concept of modern-day bass tournament fishing, emceed the weigh-in at the Paducah Expo Center. "I've conducted hundreds of bass tournaments, but the Triton Gold Elite Fish-Off is unique," he said. "It's the ultimate grassroots tournament, a chance for a Triton owner who succeeds at the local or regional level to advance to an event offering a professional-level payout. Remember, these competitors aren't pro fishermen, they're hard-working guys who live to fish tournaments on the weekend."

The Triton Gold Elite Fish-Off is held in conjunction with the fifth annual Triton Owners Tournament, slated for June 24-26 out of Kentucky Dam Village State Park. Nearly 500 Triton owners, including the Gold Elite Fish-Off contestants, will compete in this event for a total of nearly $100,000 in cash and prizes. In addition, a drawing, open to all competitors, will be held for a fully-rigged TritonTr-21X bass boat equipped with a 225 hp Mercury OptiMax outboard, valued at over $40,000.

Triton is the official boat of the CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer, the most prestigious fishing tournament in the outdoor industry. For additional information on Triton Boats and the Triton Gold tournament rewards program, log onto the company's website, www.tritonboats.com, call 1-888-8TRITON, or see an authorized Triton Boats dealer.

For additional information contact Rob Reisterer (615)792-6767 or robr@tritonboats.com


Triton Gold Elite Fish Off Tournament Results

1st $40,000.00 Derrick Millirons 11.91 lbs
Seale, AL
2nd $10,000.00 Blaine Shelton 11.08 lbs
Moulton, AL
3rd $ 5,000.00 Skip Sjobeck 10.88 lbs
Randolph Center, VT
4th $ 4,000.00 Jimmy Smith 9.12 lbs
Caledonia, MS
5th $ 3,000.00 Jason Reyes 8.04 lbs
Humble, TX
6th $ 2,000.00 Mason Brock 7.86 lbs
Marianna, FL
7th $ 1,500.00 Bob Robinson 6.90 lbs
Springboro, OH
8th $ 1,300.00 Jason Murphy 6.83 lbs
Hendersonville, NC
9th $ 1,200.00 Brian Witham 6.64 lbs
New Castle, IN
10th $ 1,100.00 David McCormick 6.59 lbs
Lee's Summit, MO
11th $   900.00 Edward Guice 6.27 lbs
Decatur, AL
12th $   800.00 Donald Morris 5.46 lbs
Macclesfield, NC
13th $   700.00 Trenton Withrow 5.40 lbs
Norvell, MI
14th $    600.00 Matt Amedeo 4.96 lbs
Akron, OH
15th $    500.00 Roy Norville, Jr. 4.90 lbs
Farmville, NC
16th $    500.00 Danny Bloodworth 4.24 lbs
Ardmore, OK
17th $    500.00 Grant Miller 4.14 lbs
Dresser, WI
18th $    500.00 Mike Henderson 2.31 lbs
Wilmington, OH
19th $    500.00 Kelly Kellogg 1.93 lbs
Kelso, WA
20th $    500.00 Jason White 1.73 lbs
Bucyrus, KS
21st $    500.00 Scott Dubee 1.66 lbs
Arlington, TX
22nd $    500.00 Steve Vann 1.64 lbs
Goldsboro, NC
23rd $    500.00 David Clark 1.62 lbs
Edwardsburg, MI
24th $    500.00 Michael Holland 1.59 lbs
Belton, SC
25th TIED $    400.00 William Pioch - Beckley, WV
Jack Thomas - Highland Village, TX
Larry Lovell - Emory, TX
Scott Dean - Farmers Branch, TX
Bill Humbard - New Market, TN
Daniel Klein - Canal Fulton, OH
Tom Nelson - Moundville, AL