Fishing News - 7/20/00
BASS Masters Classic
Report
From BASS
Day Two Story
CLASSIC XXX LEADERBOARD SHUFFLED
Daves Takes 2nd-Round Lead in Chicago Classic
CHICAGO, Ala., July 21 - Building winds and finicky bass reshuffled the
30th annual BASS Masters Classic leaderboard Friday and selected a clear
leader from what had been a tightly knit field of contenders.
On the strength of the event's largest five-bass limit (13 pounds, 1
ounce), veteran Virginia pro Woo Daves jumped from 10th into the
second-round lead with 21 pounds, 5 ounces. Florida's Shaw Grigsby is
second with 17-1, followed by Mark Rizk of California with 16-10. Fourth
place is shared by four-time Classic winner Rick Clunn of Missouri and
Japan's Norio Tanabe with 16-6.
The 54-year-old Daves, competing in his 15th Classic, has been in this
position before. He held the lead twice in past Classics on his home waters
(James River) before coming up less than 1 pound short each time of winning
competitive fishing's most important title.
"I've been through this several times and it always seems like it slips
away from me," Daves said. "I don't get this excited any more. I've been at
this a long time and I'm just going fishing tomorrow. My lead is not
insurmountable. Nothing is insurmountable in this game."
Daves' limit of smallmouth bass were caught on a Zoom tubejig impaled on a
light jighead and tied to 6-pound test line. His most productive spot is a
series of rocks in Lake Michigan located in the shadow of the famous Sears
Tower. "It was really pretty rough," he said. "When I got out of the boat,
it felt like I was still bobbing."
Grigsby, the 44-year-old host of the One More Cast television show on TNN,
also caught the bulk of his 8-pound, 14-ounce limit Friday in wind-blown
Lake Michigan. "It's hard to fish efficiently when you have waves breaking
over the bow and over the sides, and knocking you down," he said. "My
experience fishing saltwater sure came in handy today."
Grigsby's success came on a 3/8-ounce Strike King spinnerbait and tubejig.
After spending the morning rocking and rolling on the big lake, he switched
gears and ran to a protected harbor to finish out his limit.
Third-place pro Mark Rizk fished in a crowd in the Calumet River Friday
without success when he stumbled upon a group of schooling bass. A finesse
worm produced six bass in consecutive casts to enable him to fashion a
respectable limit weighing 9-10.
"I was really hurting before I stumbled into a bunch of feeding fish," Rizk
said. "Those fish were just going crazy. It surprised me because I had
never seen anything like it in this river system."
The Classic concludes Saturday when the champion is awarded $100,000.
The 32-year-old BASSMASTER Tournament Trail is the oldest and most
prestigious bass fishing tournament circuit in the country. It has set the
standard for credibility, professionalism and sportsmanship for more than
three decades.
Day two standings.
Sponsors of the 30th BASS Masters Classic: Ranger Boats, RangerTrail
Trailers, Mercury Outboards, Chevrolet Trucks, ACDelco Voyager Batteries,
Worldwaters.com, Humminbird/Zercom electronics, Pennzoil Marine, Flowmaster
Exhaust Systems, First USA Visa Card, MotorGuide Trolling Motors, Gore-Tex
Outerwear, GMAC Insurance, State of Illinois, City of Chicago, and the Bass
Anglers Sportsman Society.
B.A.S.S. Web site: http://www.bassmaster.com.
