Fishing News - 9/15/00
From BASS
Fishing Remains Tough On Second Day at Old Hickory
Wisconsin pro Cary Bever holds lead
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn.---Wisconsin Pro Cary Bever used the strength of a 9-pound 2-ounce five-bass limit Friday to take the lead after two days at
the $232,000 BASSMASTER Tennessee Eastern Invitational on Old Hickory Lake.With the day's catch, Bever put himself into prime position to claim
the $51,000 top prize. Bever maintains an 8-ounce lead entering Saturday's final round over Arkansas pro George Cochran, who brought in a 7-3 limit on the day. Maryland's Aaron Hastings is in third place with a 13-13 total. Rufus Johnson of Tennessee is in fourth at 13-10 and Joel Richardson of North Carolina rounds out the top five with 13-2. Rip Bass of North Carolina took home $1,000 for Friday's big bass with a 6-11 fish."I am still fishing the same pattern that I was yesterday," said Cochran, a two-time BASS Masters Classic champion. "The only real difference is that yesterday I only one saw one boat and he didn't stay real long, but today I saw about 10 boats. As a result of all the traffic I wasn't able to fish
as thoroughly as I would have liked. "I am going to expand on my water a little tomorrow. I have a place I haven't fished yet that has some fish, and I think that if I have one or two good ones tomorrow I can win this thing."Fishing was once again tough today, as there were only 22 limits - down from Thursday's 26 - out of the 324 anglers on the water. Weights were also low with a total of 674 pounds and 11 ounces being weighed in Friday. The day's biggest catch belonged to Florida's Tom Strickland with a 10-5
limit. "In practice I was averaging about 8 to 11 pounds a day," said Strickland."The night before the tournament though, I changed all of my line. Last night I changed my line to 10-pound mono and they turned back on to that mono line. I've got a good pattern going and hopefully I will be able to bring in 10 to 11 pounds tomorrow."
Legendary Florida pro Roland Martin, currently in sixth place, attributes the low weights to a lake in a rebuilding cycle. "There aren't that many big fish out there right now, it is just a down cycle," Martin said. "I see it at Okeechobee and every other major lake in the country, you have
good years and bad years. Right now, this lake is in a building year, there are a lot of small ones and a lot of grass, so maybe in a couple of years it will go back to being the great fishery that it usually is. I have one little area that has a little channel and there are some fish in there.The area also has plenty of logs in it, so I should be able to catch them on
a spinnerbait. I have been catching a limit, in fact I caught ten today, so I think that there are enough fish in there for me to win."The tournament will conclude on Saturday with the weigh-in beginning at
3 p.m. at Rockland Park. A BASSMASTER CASTINGKIDS competition will be held at the site from 10 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. CASTINGKIDS is program begun by B.A.S.S. and sponsored by Chevy Trucks and Zebco that allows kids up to age 14 to compete for up to $5,000 in scholarships.Sponsors of the 2000 Tennessee BASSMASTER Eastern Invitational include:
Ranger Boats, RangerTrail Trailers, Mercury Outboards, Chevy Trucks, ACDelco Batteries, Worldwaters.com, Humminbird/Zercom Marine, Pennzoil Marine, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, First USA/B.A.S.S. Platinum Visa, MotorGuide Trolling Motors, Gore-Tex Outerwear, GMAC Insurance.The event is sponsored locally by the United Chambers of Sumner County.
B.A.S.S. Web site: http://www.bassmaster.com.
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