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Final Story
Kansan Brent
Chapman climbs five more places to 15th
Woo Daves
makes Classic breakthrough
Virginia pro scores narrow victory in Chicago Classic
CHICAGO, July 22 - On a breezy day in the Windy City,
Virginia pro Woo
Daves erased a series of painful BASS Masters Classic memories
by winning his 15th Classic try Saturday by the narrow margin
of 1 pound, 2 ounces.
Kansan Brent Chapman climbed
five more places to finish the event in 15th place. Chapman was
one of only eight contenders to weigh in a five fish limit each
of the three days. He just wasn't able to find the larger fish
like some of the anglers finishing ahead of him.
Daves, who has finished
second and third by agonizing margins of 6 and 13 ounces in past
Classics on his home waters, protected his second-round lead
with a final-round catch of four bass weighing 6 1/2 pounds.
His three-day total of 27 pounds, 13 ounces earned Daves the
$100,000 top prize and the most important title in competitive
fishing.
California's Mark Rizk,
fishing his second Classic, rode Saturday's largest
five-bass limit (10-1) to second place with 26-11. Shaw Grigsby
of Florida
finished third with 24-7, followed by four-time Classic winner
Rick Clunn
of Missouri and Japan's Kotaro Kiriyama (both with 23-14).
But the day belonged to
Daves, a 25-year veteran of the B.A.S.S. wars and
two-time national champion.
"Winning the Classic
is the dream of every bass fisherman in the word," he said.
"And my dream came true today.
"It means a lot more
to me because I'm no spring chicken. I'm 54 years old. My mother
keeps asking me if I was ever going to win the Classic before
she died. And she's 81. I told her she might have to live to
95 before I won it."
Daves was the only Classic
angler to target smallmouth bass exclusively. He used a Zoom
tubejig (tied to 6-pound test line) to mine an abandoned
seawall located about 300 yards out into Lake Michigan in the
shadow of the world-famous Sears Tower. He battled 3- and 4-foot
waves for all three days to fashion his winning pattern.
Rizk, 37, "stumbled"
onto a school of feeding largemouths in the second
round, catching six keeper bass in consecutive casts. He returned
to the
same area in Lake Calumet on Saturday, where the action was considerably
slower. His success came on Magic and Assault hand-poured finesse
worms tied to a drop-shot rig.
"I'm really satisfied
with my finish," Rizk said. "I'm not much a finesse
fisherman, but I made the necessary adjustments to catch fish
in this
tournament."
The 44-year-old Grigsby
struggled to catch four bass totaling 7-6 to drop
from second to third Saturday. His success came on both largemouth
and
smallmouth bass in wind-swept Lake Michigan and some protected
harbors, where he used a Luck 'E' Strike G4 tubejig.
Defending Classic champion
Davy Hite shook off two fishless days to catch the largest bass
of the tournament Saturday (4 pounds, 3 ounces), and win the
$1000 Pennzoil big-bass award.
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.
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
FINAL Day
Notes &Quotes From the 2000 Classic in Chicago
WOO DAVES Champion- This was the most exciting
fishing day of my life. I had a fantastic day yesterday, 13-pound
string. Then I got out there today
and lost a good one, and only got 4 more bites. I thought 'Oh,
no, here we
go again.'
I went north about 3 miles.
I was fishing in front of the Sears
Building, about 300 yards out in the lake, on a rock wall, a
straight
vertical drop. I was using a Zoom tube right against the wall.
I caught
most of my fish on the tube. I had to get the tube within 3 to
6 inches of
the drop or I couldn't get a bite. I was using green pumpkin,
with
chartreuse dipped tail. I used Jack's Juice.
Couldn't get bit on 8-pound
line. But 6-pound did it. You hook
those 3-pound smallmouths on 6-pound line and it keeps your heart
throbbing.
I felt fish were right
on edge of drop, looking right at the wall.
Every one of them was against the wall. First day, caught a limit
there,
thought would be about 9 pounds. Then decided to leave it alone.
Yesterday,
I had 4 fish. Sun came along and left a little shade along wall.
I went
along wall, pitching forward, that was key to keeping big fish.
Today
stayed off in the morning. Caught four and lost a nice one. About
10:30
decided to move closer, couldn't keep against wall without tearing
it to
pieces. Didn't get a bite after a quarter to 11 this morning.
Key was wall had some grass
growing out of it. A lot of holes in
the wall. Most of the metal has rusted and fell off. Water washed
in and
out of there, and crawfish living in there. That's why had to
get bait
tight to the wall.
I took a Zoom tube in green
pumpkin, dipped tail in chartreuse dye.
I used 1/8 ounce lead head 70 percent of the time. 3/16 if wind
got up. I
always believe that I should fish plastic as slow as possible.
I'm known
for fishing plastic worms. My bread and butter. I've always fished
lightest
weight possible to get it to the bottom.
Got one good fish yesterday
on a spinnerbait. One 12-inch keeper on
a Carolina rig. Wall had a rockpile on the end of it. A lot of
zebra mussels on
these rocks. Two fish I caught in practice was on those rocks,
but didn't
get a bite on them in tournament. I was on inside of wall.
I've got a unique name
and I've got a lot of fans. When I hear them
call my name, it brings tears to my eyes. One thing that is hurting
this lake right now is no rain. If there were water in Calumet
Lake, there would be some awesome fishing in there.
In a tournament like this,
have to battle the wind, battle the odds, battle no sleep. I
can't beat some of these young guys in a running race. I'm more
of a mental guy. I was youngest guy in Classic in 1975. I thought
I was oldest here, but I'm not. But I am the oldest pro here.
Things we see now that
we didn't see 10 years ago. We didn't see
Timmy Horton. We didn't see Kevin Van Dam. These good young fishermen
out of California. I can remember when average age was 48 to
50. BASSMSTER has gotten young kids involved in it. Some hate
to see it. They kick our butt quite regularly. But it's great
for the sport.
MARK RIZK- I went back to that point where
I saw feeding fish yesterday.
They weren't doing it today, but I was able to pick off one here
and there.
I had a lot of pressure around me, a lot of boats.
I caught a lot of fish
today on 4-inch Magic worms. Had my best
luck on Risky Business, my namesake color.
I was drop shotting, keeping
the bait in front of them for awhile.
I am assault fisherman, not a finesse fisherman. But I knew that
I would
have to use some of those tactics to win this tournament.
The first day, I caught
a lot of fish on green pumpkin tubes. I stuck with my same strategy.
Found schooling fish yesterday in Lake Calumet. All the fishing
pressure today kept fish backed off. But I was able to pick off
a few.
I used a tube bait in green
pumpkin, my first choice. But I had to
change up. Used some Magic worms today, 4-inch variety, and an
Assault worm in 4-inch size.
On this waterway, I realized
it wouldn't fish very large. Fish
available were stacked up in small areas. With so much pressure,
I knew
fish would be spooky and hard to catch. I tried my assault style,
but
realized that wouldn't be the key to this tournament. Went to
finesse
fishing. I had used dropshot in only one tournament before this.
Dropshot, hook is rigged
above the weight. Weight sits on bottom and whatever you are
using just dances in the fish's face. What I keyed in on, I knew
fish spawning in Lake Calumet when we pre-fished. I looked for
deeper areas where fish would move out. Key was current from
lock moving bait back and forth across point.
I'm used to crowds in California,
but never had it as tight as it
was the last two days. Could reach out and touch other boats,
other
competitors.
SHAW GRIGSBY- This is a great area to fish. It's
too bad that the wind
didn't cooperate. I didn't want the wind, but I wanted the sun.
Unfortunately, they came together.
My pattern this week, found
in pre-fishing. I went out in the lake.
Got some NOAA charts. They showed some shoals that were rocky.
That was the key. Find the rocks. That's where smallmouth should
be. Seemed like largemouth water was small area. I figured most
of the guys would fish the largemouth. I wanted to find some
open-water smallmouth. Little did I realize that it would howl
every day and be cold. Probably very strange
weather for Chicago this time of year. It was disappointing.
Because of
weather, lake didn't show its true colors. Not a bad fishery.
An excellent
fishery. About an hour to two was maximum time I had out there.
I had to go to backup areas.
I knew fish were in harbors, not much
structure for them to move out to. Caught fish that were there.
Fortunately, guys were going down the banks and missing a lot
of fish. I
went slower, working a tube bait. Opening morning, I was able
to power fish with a Strike King spinnerbait. After that, couldn't
power fish anymore.
Real kicker is that I didn't
have a limit yesterday or today. Wind basically eliminated the
lake. You've got a good fishery. It will do nothing but get better.
RICK CLUNN- I was Fishing Lake Calumet area,
keying on shallow areas.
Throwing a Norman Tiny N and a few on a balsa B2. Covering a
lot of water. A lot of fish in there. Area has a lot of fish
in it, but attracts a lot of
attention. All baits I was throwing were variations of chartreuse.
I had trouble with zebra
mussels, even in backwater. I had
crankbait break off at least a half dozen times. It would pop
up; and I'd
go get it. Didn't lose a fish because of zebra mussels. I caught
50 largemouths and only 2 smallmouths, which probably was my
downfall. I never had more than 5 or 6 spectators on me and they
were all very nice.
I made two errors in this
tournament. Didn't practice enough with
light line. I should have spent more time on main lake. It was
more
fishable than I thought it was. Easier to fish in boat than running
it. I
kind of chickened out on fishing it, so I'm disappointed in that.
KOTARO KIRIYAMA- I used 6-pound line. I used watermelon
and reddish brown Zipper worms. I lived in New York for 8 years,
so I had some experience fishing for smallmouth. Used dropshot.
Used offset No. 1 hook, didn't push hook out of it. My second
year for BASSMASTER Division Trail.
Final Standings
PLACE NAME CITY STATE FISH/DEAD
LBS-OZ PTS WINNINGS
001 Woo Daves Spring Grove VA 14/00 27-13 $100,000
002 Mark Rizk Antelope CA 15/00 26-11 $40,000
003 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Gainesville FL 13/00 24-07 $15,000
004 Rick Clunn Ava MO 15/00 23-14 $7,750
004 Kotaro Kiriyama Tokyo JA 15/01 23-14 $7,750
006 Norio Tanabe Tokyo JA 15/00 22-15 $6,000
007 Alton Jones Waco TX 14/00 22-05 $5,500
008 Aaron Martens Castaic CA 15/00 21-08 $5,500
009 Art Ferguson III Rochester MI 14/00 21-06 $5,500
010 Michael Iaconelli Woodbury Heights NJ 15/00 20-01 $5,500
011 Ray Sedgwick Cross SC 15/00 19-12 $5,500
012 George Cochran Hot Springs AR 15/00 19-03 $5,250
012 Kevin Wirth Crestwood KY 13/00 19-03 $5,250
014 Brett Hite Phoenix AZ 12/00 18-12 $5,000
015 Brent Chapman Shawnee KS 15/00 18-07 $5,000
016 Carl Maxfield Summerville SC 12/00 18-04 $4,500
017 Mark Pack Mineola TX 14/00 18-01 $4,500
018 Larry Nixon Bee Branch AR 13/00 17-15 $4,500
019 Randy Jackson Poplar Bluff MO 13/00 16-15 $4,000
020 Scott Rook Little Rock AR 12/00 16-13 $4,000
021 Mark Hardin Canton GA 8/00 14-11 $5,000
022 Skeet Reese Cotati CA 10/00 14-10 $4,000
023 Gerald Beck Lexington NC 10/01 14-07 $4,000
024 Bernie Schultz Gainesville FL 8/01 14-01 $4,000
025 Jay Yelas Tyler TX 8/00 13-14 $4,000
026 Rickie Harp Cottondale AL 10/00 13-08 $4,000
027 Gary Klein Weatherford TX 8/00 13-04 $4,000
028 Dion Hibdon Stover MO 8/00 12-05 $4,000
029 Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo MI 10/00 12-01 $4,000
030 Robert L. Kilby Hot Springs AR 9/00 10-13 $4,000
031 Edwin Evers Mannsville OK 7/00 10-11 $4,000
032 Todd Faircloth Jasper TX 7/00 10-06 $4,000
033 Charlie Youngers Oviedo FL 8/01 9-11 $4,000
033 Lendell Martin, Jr. Nacogdoches TX 5/00 9-11 $5,000
035 Phillip Jones Holland MI 5/00 9-08 $4,000
036 Dean Matts Yukon OK 7/00 8-04 $4,000
037 David Walker Cannon KY 5/00 6-13 $4,000
038 Stan Fisher Trout Creek MT 5/00 6-11 $4,000
039 Curt Lytle Suffolk VA 3/00 6-08 $4,000
040 Ron Shuffield Bismarck AR 5/00 6-07 $4,000
041 Russell Smarr Charleston WV 3/00 4-10 $4,000
042 Davy Hite Prosperity SC 1/00 4-03 $5,000
043 Tom Mann, Jr. Buford GA 3/00 3-09 $4,000
044 Kim Stricker Howell MI 3/00 3-05 $4,000
045 Mike Wurm Hot Springs AR 1/00 0-15 $4,000
046 Timmy Horton Spruce Pine AL 0/00 0-00 $2,000
DAY BIG BASS NAME CITY
STATE CASH
1 3-14 Mark Hardin Canton GA $1,000
2 3-11 Lendell Martin, Jr. Nacogdoches TX $1,000
3 4-03 Davy Hite Prosperity SC $1,000
DAY # FISH # DEAD # LIMITS
LBS-OZ
1 157 3 23 243-13
2 129 1 17 187-14
3 150 0 21 221-06
436 4 61 653- 1
2000 BASS MASTER CLASSIC
CONTENDERS
TOURNAMENT TRAIL
Kansan Brent
Chapman in 24th
Maxfield
assumes early Classic lead
South Carolina pro tops tight-knit field
CHICAGO, July 20 - It took Carl Maxfield several
years and considerable
effort to qualify for the prestigious BASS Masters Classic and
the South
Carolina pro is making the best of his first opportunity. Maxfield
plied
the waters of the Calumet River to catch a five- bass limit weighing
10
pounds, 1 ounce to take a slim first-round lead in the Chicago
Classic. Read
Complete Story
TIM HORTON: BASS FISHING'S
NEWEST STAR
B.A.S.S.
Angler of the Year Riding High Into Classic
CHICAGO, Ill. - June
13, 2000 - Forty-six
of the world's best anglers will invade the Windy City for the
30th BASS Masters Classic® July 20-22 including some of professional
fishing's biggest names - Rick Clunn, Kevin VanDam, Davy Hite,
Gary Klein, Larry Nixon, George Cochran, just to name a few.
Read
Complete Story
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Zeiner's Fishing News
Pros find
Chicago waters rich with bass
B.A.S.S. Media Classic a hit with contenders and celebrities
ALSIP, Ill. - June 12, 2000 - Spectators at Howell's Landing over the weekend
got a sneak preview of the upcoming BASS Masters Classic as they
watched many of the world's best anglers weigh-in their limits
during the second annual B.A.S.S. Media Classic. The event, which
was designed to build awareness for next month's "Super
Bowl of Sportfishing," coincided with the contenders' final
practice day until Classic week. Read Complete Story
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Zeiner's Fishing News
FERGUSON WINS
BASSMASTER TOP 150
Final Event
Sends 25 Pros to Coveted Classic
DECATUR, Ala., May 15,
2000 - Although
Michigan pro Art Ferguson III took
home top honors and the $100,000 first-place prize in the $409,450
BIG
Kmart BASSMASTER Top 150 that ended Saturday on Alabama's Lake
Wheeler, there were 25 other winners that emerged from the four-day
national tournament. Read
Complete Story
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Zeiner's Fishing News
Super Bowl
of Bass Fishing Comes to Chicago
Lake Michigan
to host BASS Masters Classic
MONTGOMERY, ALA., Feb.
8, 2000 -- "We're
going to one of the greatest
sports cities in America!" stated Helen Sevier, CEO of Bass
Anglers
Sportsman Society in announcing that Chicago, Ill., would be
the site of
the 2000 BASS Masters Classic. The 30th annual "Super Bowl
of bass
fishing" will be contested July 20-22, 2000 on Lake Michigan
with daily
weigh-ins being held at historic Soldier Field. Read Complete Story
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Zeiner's Fishing News
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