Fishing News - 5/8/01
From BASS
ROSE TAKES EARLY LEAD IN MEGABUCKS EVENT
BASSMASTER Season Finale Shapes Up To Be a Shootout
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. - (May, 2001) - Mark Rose, a 29-year-old fulltime professional fisherman from Marion, Ark., found himself in a lofty and unfamiliar position Tuesday by surprising the field to take the first-round lead in the $667,000 BASSMASTER MegaBucks Tournament on Tennessee's Douglas Lake.
Rose, whose previous highest B.A.S.S. finish is ninth, laid early claim to the $134,000 top prize in the final event of the 2000-01 BASSMASTER Top 150 season with a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 3 ounces. And no one seemed more surprised than him.
"I had a really rough practice and was catching nothing but small fish," Rose said. "I just went out there today determined to fish hard and stayed in shallow water like I like to fish. I covered a lot of water with a Strike King topwater and spinnerbait, looking for any new bushes that had water on them.
"I was just fortunate to get some decent bites today." Rose, who is completing his first season on the Top 150 circuit, caught nine keeper-sized bass on Tuesday.
Red-hot Texas pro Jay Yelas, fresh from wrapping up the point's title in the Central Invitational Division, is second with 15-4. But he was quick to credit his amateur partner, local angler Edmund (Buster) Lilly, Jr., for his success.
"I had a fabulous day, and I owe it all to my partner," Yelas said, in reference to Lily, a Bluff City machinist who fishes Douglas Lake more than 100 days a year. "I told him I hadn't seen any good fish since I've been there, and he told me that he knew where some were. For the first time in my entire career, I decided to go to my (amateur) partner's fish on the first day of a tournament. But I was honest with myself that I really didn't have anything going. And it turned out to be a great decision. He's got some great spots."
Defending MegaBucks champion Alton Jones found himself in third place Tuesday with a limit weighing 14-10. "I really didn't know what quality bites I was getting because in practice I always cut my hooks off," he said. "You have to go through a lot of little bass to get some decent fish. And I feel fortunate to have gotten some good bites."
Two more qualifying rounds remain for the pros, who are aiming to qualify for the lucrative two rounds on Saturday and Sunday. The finalists start even and are required to fish a golf course style rotation of "holes." The course of holes to be fished, located on Flat Creek, will be new water for the anglers, because it is marked off-limits during Tuesday-Thursday competition. Anglers rotate throughout the holes, and after the two days, the angler with the most weight is declared the champion.
In the coveted B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year race, Arkansas' Mark Davis solidified his lead Tuesday with a limit weighing 13 pounds (good enough for fourth place). Kevin VanDam of Michigan, his closest competitor, brought 9-2 to the scales.
With MegaBucks being the final event of the year, anglers will not only be trying to earn a paycheck, but also will be trying to gain a berth in the 31st BASS Masters Classic. The top 25 anglers in the standings after this event will earn spots in bass fishing's biggest event, to be held this August in New Orleans, La.
Anglers will launch from the TVA Douglas Lake Dam starting at 6:15 a.m. each day. The weigh-ins will be held there at 3:00 p.m. each day. For directions, contact the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce at (865) 908-4103.
By sanctioning over 20,000 tournaments worldwide, B.A.S.S. is the world's largest fishing organization. The BASSMASTER Tournament Trail is the oldest and most prestigious pro bass fishing tournament circuit. It continues to set the standard for credibility, professionalism, and sportsmanship after more than three decades.
Sponsors of the 2001 BASSMASTER Tournament Trail include: Ranger Boats, RangerTrail Trailers, Mercury Outboards, Chevy Trucks, Long John Silver's, Kumho Tires, 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 and Armstrong Industrial Tools.
B.A.S.S. Web site: http://www.bassmaster.com.
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