Bobby Bauer of China Grove caught the fish of a lifetime on a recent trip to Lake Tillery.

The 10-year-old Bostian Elementary student started the day's adventure at 3:30 a.m. with his his dad, Robert. Bobby was using a 5/16-ounce finesse jig on the main part of the lake near a dock that had a large light hanging over the water.

When he felt the fish's first tap, he set the hook and the rod doubled over and the line started screaming off the reel.

"As he fought the fish it would make runs deep, but would never come up. I told him he had a striper or a cat, but about that time, the fish showed itself and I netted the 6-pound, 11-ounce monster for him," Robert Bauer said. "He was so excited I thought he would jump out of the boat. Needless to say it was definitely worth missing some sleep."

After getting his picture taken with the big bass, Bobby released him back into water.

He won an Abu Garcia reel in the monthly "Fish of a Lifetime" story contest sponsored by Berkley.

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Bill Godley, Butch Myers, Craig Myers and John Euchner went fishing offshore from Carolina Beach on Craig Myers' boat, accompanied by Capt. Owen Sewel.

They had a great day catching red snapper, red grouper, dolphin and king mackerel, the biggest weighing 15 pounds.

The friends from Enon Baptist Church are all frequent coastal fishermen and are members of the Winston-Salem Saltwater Sport Fishing Club.

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Boater Hank Cherry of Maiden won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division Super Tournament on Lake Norman with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces. The victory earned Cherry $5,259.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Scott Hamrick of Denver, N.C. (10 bass, 22-07, $3,094); Patrick Tierney of Denver, N.C. (10 bass, 21-08, $2,062); David Williams of Maiden (10 bass, 20-05, $1,444) and Rusty White of Rock Hill, S.C. (10 bass, 19-05, $1,238).

Tierney took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $862 for a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass.

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Pro Michael Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J., caught a five-bass limit weighing 10 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the Stren Series Northern Division tournament on Kerr Lake with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 45-06. For his victory, Iaconelli earned $25,000 cash.

David Wright of Lexington (19 bass, 42-10, $4,557) finished fourth.

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