Fishing News - 12/9/00
From BASS
Millsaps Claims Lake Martin Invitational
ALEXANDER CITY, Ala.---(December 9, 2000) Jimmy Millsaps rode a 10 pound, 7 ounce limit Saturday to capture the $232,000 Alabama BASSMASTER Eastern Invitational on Lake Martin. Millsaps, who entered the day in 10th place, made up a 3 pound 2 ounce deficit to claim his first-ever B.A.S.S. victory.
"I have finished third at couple of B.A.S.S. tournaments," remarked the Canton, Ga. pro, "but I never could quite get over the hump. That makes this even more special."
Finishing second was Friday's leader Danny White of Milledgeville, Ga. with 23-0. Shelby, Ala. pro Coby Carden brought in 22-8, placing him third, Paul Hanley of Hull, Ga. was fourth with 21-13 and Gerald Beck of Lexington, N.C. was fifth with 21-11.
"When the wind picked up I found some success fishing red clay banks in the pockets next to points," explained Millsaps. "I fished a 1/2 ounce Riverside spinnerbait with gold and silver blades. I was moving it pretty fast over dropoffs, and when the bait came out of shallow water, the bass would come up and hit it."
Millsaps fished the same areas near Martin Dam all three days and found success with his spinnerbait early each morning. The remainder of the day he fished a Texas-rigged finesse worm.
"The bass would only bite a spinnerbait for about the first 30 minutes the first two days," he explained. "Today was different because we had some wind and they kept biting for about 2 and a half hours."
White, a Georgia Power Co. employee, entered Saturday with the lead, but only brought in 5-15, one pound shy of the leader. "I knew that this tournament was going to be tough with several fronts moving through," he explained. "I built my strategy around that."
Prior to the tournament, many anglers thought that bad weather would equate to a better largemouth bite. Although the three-day event offered a wide range of conditions, White's early decision paid off. " I took a gamble and concentrated on the spotted bass, because I knew it would be tough to win on the largemouths," White said. "I fished offshore locations rather than bank spots because I knew that I needed enough fish to last for three days. The areas I went to near Kowligia had some grass mixed with rocks, and I worked a Zoom five-inch lizard in green pumpkin extremely slow, rattling it in the grass."
Carden, in his second year on the trail, used a crankbait and a finesse worm to claim the $30,000 third place prize. "The main thing that I was able to do was to key in on baitfish," he explained. "Primarily, I used a Bandit crankbait which I cast parallel to the rock banks near Elkhatchee Creek."
Although White didn't capture the championship, his son did capture his age group in the CASTINGKIDS competition that was held in conjunction with the tournament. Daniel White won the 11-14 age group and Daniel Bratton of Wedowee, Ala. won the 7-10 age group. The CASTINGKIDS program allows youngsters to test their skills in the basics of casting, pitching and flipping. The program has awarded over $1.2 million dollars in scholarships and prizes since its inception.
The Alabama BASSMASTER Eastern Invitational was the second of four events on the BASSMASTER Eastern Invitational Trail this season. In addition to the prize money anglers earn valuable points that will help them qualify for next summer's BASS Masters Classic. The top five anglers in the season's point standings will qualify to fish in the "Super Bowl" of bass fishing.
B.A.S.S. Web site: http://www.bassmaster.com.
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