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Kansan Brent Chapman
stands in 12th for season points
Mark Davis takes second win
of inaugural Elite 50 season
June 5, 2004 - PRATTVILLE,
Ala. Mark Davis does things
in threes. The Arkansas pro has three CITGO Bassmaster Angler
of the Year titles. He has three children. And on Saturday night
at the Bassmaster Elite 50 tournament, he won his third event
in the 2004 season of the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail presented
by Busch Beer.
"It's been a great week,"
said Davis, who used an 11-pound, 12-ounce bag of fish pulled
from the Alabama River to vault from fifth place to the winner's
circle with a 21-15 total for the two final days. "I love
this place."
Prattville loved him, too. A
weigh-in crowd of 4,200 fans screamed for five minutes as fireworks
boomed overhead and Davis pumped his fist in the air, grinning
for the crowds, the cameras, and the pleasure of winning three
events in a single season after a 19-year career without a regular-season
win.
"Sometimes I think you
have to learn how to win," Davis mused to reporters backstage.
"Maybe I finally learned how."
The jubilant moment came after
four days of hard work. Davis, who earned three Angler of the
Year titles on consistency rather than splashy victories, ground
out his victory by pulling trick after trick out of his massive
tackle bag.
"I'm like a rolling tackle
store," he said. In fact, Saturday's launch found him doing
a last-minute chartreuse dye job on a half-dozen green pumpkin
Brushhogs, but earlier in the tournament he also pulled out black
Strike King Pro Model buzzbaits, black-and-blue Strike King Premiere
Elite jigs with a Denny Brauer 3X frog chunk trailer, and Strike
King Series 4S crankbaits in pearl and chartreuse. How many baits
does he carry with him? "Like in the thousands," he
said.
With this win, Davis jumped
to second in the Elite 50 standings and is just six points away
from overtaking Michigan's Kevin VanDam. The top angler after
the season finale on June 19 will win $150,000, the lion's share
of the $1.6 million prize purse.
It didn't hurt that most of
Davis' competition faltered in Saturday's round, which was conducted
on six pre-set areas that the Super Six pros rotated through
in hour-and-20-minute intervals.
"Today, if I'd been grading
myself, I'd have really gotten a poor grade," said Missouri's
Denny Brauer, poking fun at his role as host of "Schooled
by Denny Brauer" on ESPN2, in which he grades aspiring pro
fishermen. Brauer brought in 6-12 on Saturday and tied for fourth
place with Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C.
Edwin Evers of Mannsville, Okla.,
totaled 18-8 for the final two days and has already turned his
eyes to the Elite 50 series finale, slated for June 13-19 near
Paducah, Ky.
"I'm basically going to
try and keep a positive attitude," Evers said. "I think
it's going to be a lightweight, finesse kind of deal. I don't
think it's going to be big weights, but I could be surprised."
Evers, who was in sixth after
Friday, jumped to second by bringing in 8-6 in the final round.
Because Evers is a participant in the Busch Heavyweight competition,
he also earned a $1,000 bonus for bringing in the heaviest qualified
weight of the day.
Day one leader Tommy Biffle
of Wagoner, Okla., dropped to third on Saturday after weighing
in three bass that totaled 4-1, for a two-day total of 17-10.
"It's upsetting when you
get in a position to win one and don't finish it," Biffle
said. "I had the chance. It's disappointing."
However, Biffle's high finish
at this event helped him jump to seventh in the overall Elite
50 season point standings. The top 10 anglers in the standings
will earn berths in the CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by
Busch Beer, bass fishing's world championship.
Todd Auten, who is also fishing
for a chance at the Classic, which will be held on his home waters
at Lake Wylie, S.C., totaled 17-9 for two days and jumped to
fifth in the season point standings.
"This should put me up
there," Auten said. "This is a new deal here, and I
like the format, plus I get to go to my home lake if I do good."
Dean Rojas of Grand Saline,
Texas, earned a $1,000 bonus for bringing in the Purolator Big
Bass of the Day, a 2-pound, 12-ounce featherweight that nonetheless
topped the rest of the competition. Three days after he caught
it, Kelly Jordon's 6-9 bass earned him a $1,000 check for remaining
the Purolator Big Bass of the Tournament.
The final Bassmaster Elite 50
will be June 13-19 at the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers
in Paducah, Ky., where the $1.6 million prize purse will be distributed.
Fans can catch the third event
of the Bassmaster Elite 50 series on the Alabama River in two
parts, Saturday, June 12 and Saturday, June 19 at 10:30 a.m.
ET/9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
BASS is the world's largest
fishing organization, sanctioning more than 20,000 tournaments
worldwide through its Federation. The CITGO Bassmaster Tournament
Trail is the oldest and most prestigious pro bass-fishing tournament
circuit and continues to set the standard for credibility, professionalism
and sportsmanship as it has since 1968.
Sponsors of the CITGO Bassmaster
Tournament Trail presented by Busch Beer include CITGO Petroleum
Corp., Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Skeeter Boats, Mercury
Marine, Yamaha Outboards, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Lowrance Electronics,
Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, MotorGuide, Bass Pro Shops, and BankOne.
Associate Sponsors include G3
Boats.
Local Sponsors include the Prattville
Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Prattville.
For more information, call BASS
Communications at (334) 551-2375 or visit Bassmaster.com.
TOURNAMENT NOTES
RIBBIT, RIBBIT
Dean Rojas, who holds the BASS record for the heaviest single-day
catch in a tournament (45 pounds, 2 ounces from Lake Toho in
2001), admitted to the crowd Saturday that he names his frog-type
baits.
On Saturday, he depended on
Kermit, although he held Curtis, Leroy, Cleotis, and Beaufort
in reserve. In the end, he sold Kermit to tournament master of
ceremonies Fish Fishburne for $9. Look for it on Ebay next week.
MODEST DOMINATION
Despite the hoopla surrounding his three-in-a-season and two-in-a-row
streak, Mark Davis isn't getting too excited about his first
regular-season wins in a 19-year career.
"I guess it was bothering
other people more than me," he said. "I was winning
Angler of the Year titles; I won the Classic.
"Who knows when you're
going to win one of these crazy tournaments? I don't feel like
I'm doing anything different now than I ever have."
Is he on his way to becoming
the Tiger Woods of fishing?
"You don't see anyone that
dominates, that goes out and wins, wins, wins," he said,
disclaiming any idea that he might be that angler. "The
best of pros that go out and win every other year, every two
years, every three or four years, they're the best pros in the
world.
"In the sport of fishing,
you don't see guys dominating in wins."
Yeah, Mark. We do.
2004 Alabama CITGO Bassmaster
Elite 50 06/02-06/05
Alabama River, Prattville Ala.
Standings Day 4
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Mark Davis Mount Ida, Ark. 10 21-15 305 $6,000.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 5 10-03 Day 4: 5 11-12
2. Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 10 18-08 295 $5,000.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 5 10-02 Day 4: 5 8-06
3. Tom Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 8 17-10 300 $5,000.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 5 13-09 Day 4: 3 4-01
4. Denny Brauer Camdenton, Mo. 10 17-09 285 $1,250.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 5 10-13 Day 4: 5 6-12
4. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, S.C. 9 17-09 285 $1,250.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 5 12-02 Day 4: 4 5-07
6. Dean Rojas Grand Saline, Texas 10 17-02 276 $1,500.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 5 11-12 Day 4: 5 5-06
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Purolator Big Bass
Day
1 Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 6-09 $1,000.00
2 Tom Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 5-05 $1,000.00
3 Dean Rojas Grand Saline, Texas 4-09 $1,000.00
4 Mark Davis Mount Ida, Ark. 2-12 $1,000.00
Purolator Big Bass of Tournament
Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 6-09 $1,000.00
Busch Heavy Weight
Day
1 Davy Hite Prosperity, S.C. 18-03 $1,000.00
2 Gerald Swindle Hayden, Ala. 16-03 $1,000.00
3 Tom Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 13-09 $1,000.00
4 Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 8-06 $1,000.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 20 192 375-07
2 23 181 358-07
3 24 179 350-11
4 4 27 41-12
----------------------------------
71 579 1126-05
2004 Elite 50 Points
After Day 4 Prattville, Ala. Ending 06-05-2004
-------------------------------------------
Place Name St Pts
-------------------------------------------
1 Kevin VanDam Mich. 817
2 Mark Davis Ark. 812
3 Stacey D King Mo. 807
4 Zell Rowland Texas 783
5 Todd Auten S.C. 781
6 Greg Hackney La. 760
7 Tom Biffle Okla. 756
8 Gary Klein Texas 753
9 Dean Rojas Texas 749
10 Jay Yelas Texas 735
11 Denny Brauer Mo. 731
12 Brent Chapman Kan. 730
13 Edwin Evers Okla. 729
14 Gerald Swindle Ala. 724
15 Alton Jones Texas 723
16 Randy Howell Ala. 718
16 Davy Hite S.C. 718
16 Peter E Thliveros Fla. 718
19 Dustin Wilks N.C. 716
20 Kenyon Hill Okla. 695
21 Todd Faircloth Texas 689
22 Jim Bitter Fla. 688
23 Kelly Jordon Texas 683
24 David Fritts N.C. 681
25 Larry Nixon Ark. 679
26 O T Fears III Okla. 675
27 John Murray Ariz. 668
28 Rick Clunn Mo. 659
28 Randy Blaukat Mo. 659
30 Chad Brauer Mo. 657
31 Mark Menendez Ky. 653
32 Roland Martin Fla. 651
33 Brian Snowden Mo. 650
34 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 644
35 Kevin Wirth Ky. 639
35 David Wharton Texas 639
37 Ben Matsubu Texas 638
38 Skeet Reese Calif. 637
39 Jack A Gadlage Ky. 633
40 Ron Shuffield Ark. 629
41 Brett Hite Ariz. 627
42 Bud Pruitt Texas 625
43 Robert Lee Calif. 624
44 George Cochran Ark. 623
45 Tim Horton Ala. 617
46 Paul L Elias Miss. 601
47 Bernie Schultz Fla. 595
48 Mike Wurm Ark. 579
49 Ishama Monroe Calif. 571
50 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Fla. 251
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