Gardendale fisherman Randy Tharp caught ten fish weighing 24 pounds over three days, good for 19th place and $15,000 in last week’s Forrest Wood Cup bass tournament on Lake Lanier in Georgia.

Randy Tharp made it to the third day of the Forrest Wood Cup, but not the fourth.

Tharp finished with 10 fish weighing 24 pounds over three days of fishing on Lake Lanier, good enough for 19th place and a $15,000 check in the top event of the FLW Tour.

Tharp made the cut of the top 30 anglers after two days, but was more than 10 pounds out of the top five after a rough  Saturday, during which he caught only two fish weighing 3 pounds, 12 ounces.

That put him well short of the “final five” who advanced to the final day Sunday.

“I’m not pleased [with how I finished], but this lake didn’t suit how I like to fish,” Tharp said Tuesday while practicing for a tournament in North Carolina.

“Lanier is very deep, and I like to fish shallow water. I fished over brush, and got about the same number of hits each day, 15 or so. I had seven bite Friday, but only two Saturday. You could feel ‘em hit. But I was fishing out of my comfort zone,” Tharp said.

Tharp’s earnings on FLW events this year total more than $47,000. His career earnings total more than $265,000, including Bassmasters and Professional Anglers Association tournaments.

Among other area fisherman, Justin Lucas of Montevallo finished 26th, Kyle Mabrey of McCalla was 35th and Greg Pugh of Cullman placed 68th.

The tournament was won by California angler Kevin Hawk, who caught  just over 50 pounds. Hawk took home the $500,000 grand prize, plus an unexpected $100,000 bonus from legendary oilman and investor T. Boone Pickens, who had announced earlier that day that he had become a partner  in FLW Outdoors.