WEEKEND SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP TO DETERMINE FINAL BASSMASTER CLASSIC QUALIFIER

Alabama’s Lake Guntersville Site of Championship Event

 

What’s at stake: The winner of the event will receive a $100,000 cash prize and a spot in the 2007 Bassmaster Classic.  The total payout is $229,000 in cash to the 56 participating boaters and $114,500 cash to the 56 non-boaters.  The winning non-boater will receive $50,000 cash.    

  The Anglers Said It

“The bite is very slow right now but the spotted bass are pretty predictable and you can catch them on the docks.  I think you will see a lot of competitors work to fill up their limit with spotted bass and then try to upgrade their catch with some largemouth.” – Greg Anderson, 31, Warwick, R.I.  Anderson is active in the U.S. Navy

 “I just haven’t been able to dial in on the fish today.  I did catch a few largemouth of decent size while concentrating on grass, but I just don’t feel that confident right now.” – Jeff Coble, 44, Manson, N.C. Coble won the 2006 ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series Championship and works as a Triton Boats sales representative.    

 “I have had a decent practice and tomorrow I will use my time to fish more of the main lake and locate some productive areas out there.  Like most of the field, I will be concentrating on grass.” – Mark Cox, 38, Hiwassee, Va. Cox works as an insurance agent.

 The Strategy

Anderson:  Anderson will fish for largemouth and spotted bass.  He plans to use a combination of jerkbaits to entice the largemouth and finesse techniques for spotted bass.  The Rhode Island angler believes that a mixed bag of both species is necessary to round out a limit each day of competition.

 Coble: The 2006 champion will focus primarily on largemouth bass.  Like much of the field, he will concentrate on grassy areas using a Rat-L-Trap and a chatterbait.  The defending champion estimates that 48 pounds over three days will be enough to win the tournament. 

 Cox: Cox did visit one of his areas that he identified during a pre-fish period and caught a few nice largemouth in the area.  He is predicting that someone will find a way to catch a heavy weight over the three days, so he is targeting bigger fish in grassy areas. 

 Location and Field
ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series Championship

Lake Guntersville

Guntersville, Ala.

Jan. 25-27

 Field

56 boaters, 56 non-boaters

Cut to top 12 after Day 2

 

Launch and Weigh-in

Civitan Park

Sunshine Drive

Guntersville, Ala.

6:45 a.m./ 2:45 p.m. CT

 

Background

Previous BASS events

2006 ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series

2006 Bassmaster Elite Series

2006 ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series

2006 ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series

2005 Bassmaster Tour

2005 ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series

2005 ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series

2005 Bassmaster Tour

2004 Bassmaster Tour

2002 Bassmaster Tour

1997 Bassmaster Invitational

1992 Bassmaster Megabucks

1992 Bassmaster Invitational

1991 Bassmaster Invitational

1990 BASS Megabucks

1990 Bassmaster Invitational

1989 Bassmaster Invitational

1988 Bassmaster Invitational

1987 Bassmaster Invitational

1980 Bassmaster Invitational

1976 Bassmaster Classic

 

Previous winners on lake

22-2, Scott Keeling, 2006

71-13, Michael Iaconelli, 2006

16-13, Michael Robison, 2006

24-9, Matt McLaughlin, 2006

56-6, Andy Morgan, 2005

27-13, Scott Keeling, 2005

22-11, Douglas True, 2005

87-0, Zell Rowland, 2005

99-10, George Cochran, 2004

83-11, Kelly Jordon., 2002

52-6, Chris Baumgardner, 1997

79-11, Denny Brauer, 1992

55-1, George Cochran, 1991

55-10, Zell Rowland, 1991

92-2, Larry Nixon, 1990

71-0, Edward Gettys, 1990

60-7, Robert Byrd, 1989

47-5, Don Snider, 1988

42-6, Rick Clunn, 1987

53-10, Basil Bacon, 1980

59-15, Rick Clunn, 1976

 

Heaviest winning weight

99-10, George Cochran, 2004

Lowest winning weight

16-13, Michael Robison, 2006

 

Weather

Temperature

42 degrees

Lake level

594.1 feet above mean sea level

 

2007 EOBS Championship Boaters

 

1. Greg Anderson                      Warwick, R.I.
2. Chris Atwell                            Mechanicsville, Va.
3. Joel Barber                            Brandon, Miss.
4. Thomas Borkowski               Savage, Minn.
5. Samuel Boss                         Paducah, Ky.
6. Billy Boyd                               Kingston, Tenn.
7. Brian Brown                           Breezy Point, Minn.
8. Dean Capra                           Andover, Minn.
9. Randy Childers                      Anderson, S.C.
10. Gary Clark                              Groveland, Ill.
11. Gary Clouse                           Lavergne, Tenn. 
12. Jeff Coble                              Manson, N.C.
13. Russell Colwell                      Baltimore, Md.
14. Mark Cox                               Hiwassee, Va.
15. Troy Davis                              Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
16. Thomas Dickerson               Orange, Texas
17. Robbie Dodson                     Harrison, Ark.
18. Robert Dodson                      Harrison, Ark.
19. Thomas Dooley                     Virginia Beach, Va.
20. James Elliott                          Center, Texas
21. Brady Farrell                          Fort Atkinson, Wis.
22. Raymond Goodwin               Independence, La.
23. Danny Grantham                   Mobile, Ala.
24. Klaus Hadschin                     Granite Falls, N.C.
25. Matthew Hamlette                 Altavista, Va.
26. Brian Hensley                        Edwardsburg, Mich.
27. Calvin Hewitt                          Cope, S.C.
28. Thomas Hicks                       Richmond, Va.
29. Jamie Horton                         Centreville, Ala.
30. Eric Johnson                          Columbus, Ind.
31. Brannon Jones                      Montgomery, Ala.
32. Larry King                              Macon, Ga.
33. Marc Kinnelly                         Frederick, Md.
34. Todd Lee                               Grove, Okla.
35. Brad Leifermann                   Andover, Min n.
36. Jeffrey Lokken                       Lebanon, Tenn.
37. Michael McMillan                  Greensboro, N.C.
38. Sonny Moore                         Forsyth, Mo.
39. Troy Morrow                           Toccoa, Ga.
40. Robert Myers                         Tulsa, Okla.
41. Perry Neathery                      Albany, Ky.
42. Michael Presley                     Deatsville, Ala.
43. Rod Robinson                       Raymond, Miss.
44. John Schlee                           St. Paul, Minn.
45. Danny Smith                          Monterey, La.
46. Richard Smith                        Dumfries, Va.
47. Robert Stinger                       Williamsburg, Va.
48. Randall Tharp                        Gardendale, Ala.
49. Samuel Thomas                    Sumter, S.C.
50. Billy Thompson                      Cordele, Ga.
51. Robert Trueblood                  Walnut Cove, N.C.
52. Nicholas Turner                     Jones, Ala.
53. Ray Tweedy                           Appomattox, Va.
54. Mike White                             Rogers, Ark.
55. Stan Williams                        Calhoun, La.
56. David Wright                          Lexington, N.C.

 

BASS is the worldwide authority on bass fishing, sanctioning more than 20,000 events through the BASS Federation Nation annually. Guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans, BASS sets the standard for credibility, professionalism, sportsmanship and conservation, as it has for nearly 40 years.  

 

BASS sanctions and stages bass fishing tournaments for every skill level and culminates with the Bassmaster Classic. Through its clubs, youth programs, aquatic resource advocacy, magazine publishing and multimedia platforms, BASS offers the industry's widest array of services and support to its nearly 530,000 members. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla. 

 

For more information, call BASS Communications at 407-566-2208. To join BASS, visit www.bassmaster.com or call 1-877-BASS-USA.