Fishing News - 9/20/00

        From BASS

North Carolina Pro Claims Lead At Louisiana BASSMASTER Top 150

NEW ORLEANS, La -- September 20, 2000 -- North Carolina's Marty Stone used a mammoth opening day weight of 18 pounds and 7 ounces to take the lead at the BASSMASTER Louisiana Top 150 on Wednesday. Stone's nearest competitor, Chet Douthit, was only able to weigh in 14-7.  Third place belongs to Oaklahoma's Tom Biffle with 14-1. Fourth place is held by Denny Brauer with a 13-9 limit and Tom Burns of Illinois rounds out the top five at 13-1.

"I just got lucky in the spot that I was in today," said Stone. "I only had six bites so it's not like I am catching them left and right. In the pre-fish, I did not catch anything close to this. I thought that if I maxed out my area I would catch 10 to12 pounds. I really got pleasantly surprised today and I'll take it. It is a lead, but to say that I could do anything like that again is pretty ridiculous."

Stone, who previously won the 1999 BASSMASTER Alabama Top 150 on Lake Wheeler, said that he had to hit several spots in order to claim his limit.  "I had to move around a lot today and that's why I say that I was fortunate. It would be one here, then I would move ten miles and it would be one there, it was a deal where I could have made the wrong stop and really been in trouble. I was using a Gambler Tube and a new Gambler Spinnerbait, that I helped design. I used a medium retrieve on the spinnerbait. There were a lot of other boats in the area that I was in.  When I found it in practice I felt like if I was in there by myself then I could do pretty well, so I was fortunate."

Florida's Douthit used the same location that he fished during the BASSMASTER Louisiana Top 150, held in 1998. "I did real well in practice, and I thought that I would do well again. I fished about an hour from here (Bayou Segnette State Park) in a canal."  

Stone also claimed the big fish for the day and the $1,000 prize that goes along with it, with a big fish of 4-13.

Alan Hults of Gautier, Mississippi, had the lead on the amateur side of the event with a first day total of 10-10. The total puts Hults in the lead for the $27,000 that the amateur winner will take home. "I caught my big fish (3-11) five minutes before we headed in. I only practiced one day," said Hults.  

A free BASSMASTER CASTINGKIDS event, sponsored by Chevy Trucks and Zebco,  will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This fun-filled national program designed by B.A.S.S. CEO Helen Sevier encourages children to perfect the basics of fishing - casting, pitching and flipping.  The Louisiana B.A.S.S. Federation will conduct this event and provide instruction.

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.

         B.A.S.S. Web site: http://www.bassmaster.com.

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