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Horton Leads First Day
of Elite 50
 RUSSELLVILLE,
Ark.: The BASS pros on Lake Dardenelle showed how they qualified for the
inaugural Bassmaster Elite 50 tournament on Wednesday, averaging 10 pounds
of fish per angler on the first of four competition days. Alabama's
Tim Horton outfished his fellow all-stars with 17 pounds and 7 ounces,
giving him just a 4-ounce edge over his closest competition.
"I was really pleased," Horton said. "I didn't expect to catch that
much
today so, yeah, I was really pleased. I'm fishing about mid-lake.
I don't
even know the name of it, all I know is it was a mid-lake area. Today
was the
best day I've had, but you catch a few here and a few there and you start to
get committed to those areas."
Anglers had to adjust slightly to accommodate the Elite 50 series 10 a.m.
launches, which put them on the water about four hours later than the
average
start on the CITGO Bassmaster Tourament Trail presented by Busch Beer.
"I think they are biting better in the afternoon," Horton said. "As it
warmed up it got better. The late start really helped everybody.
I don't
think it will be that much tomorrow. I think the lake is starting to
fish much
smaller. There are some select areas that everyone has figured out and
there
will be a lot of people in one area tomorrow."
The big catch earned Horton a $1,000 check from Busch for the Busch
Heavyweight
award, given to the participating angler with the largest catch each
tournament
day. He and Texan Zell Rowland split the $1,000 prize for the
Purolator Big
Bass of the day. Both of their largest fish weighed in at 6 pounds, 2
ounces.
If they hold out as the heaviest bass for the entire tournament, they will
split another grand for the Purolator Big Bass of the Tournament.
His 6-2 lunker anchored Rowland's second place sack of 17-3, a mere 4 ounces
out of first place.
Kelly Jordon's 16-pound, 4-ounce catch was good enough for third place.
Jordon got his limit early and spent the rest of the day at a more relaxed
pace, but according to the Texas pro, something was missing.
"It was really weird not having an amateur to fish with you," Jordon said.
"I got my limit fairly early and I told my observer, 'I'm going practicing
man, can you fish?" He said that he wasn't allowed to fish at all and
I was
like, 'Sorry, man. I'm going fishing.'"
"I had a pretty solid day today. I'm pretty happy with it. We'll
see if I
can do it again tomorrow. I sure hope so."
Day two of the Bassmaster Elite 50 series gets under way Thursday.
Launch
begins at 10 a.m. with weigh-ins starting at 7 p.m. at Lake Dardanelle State
Park Lodge.
Fans can catch the first event of the new Bassmaster Elite 50 series on
Arkansas' Lake Dardanelle, Saturday, April 24 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT
on
ESPN2
Friday and Saturday, BASS will hold the Sponsor Expo. The Expo takes
place
from 3-8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday at the Lake Dardanelle
State Park. Admission is always free.
The Bassmaster CastingKids program sponsored by CITGO will be held in
conjunction with the BASS Sponsor Expo Saturday, April 17, from 3 p.m.-6
p.m.
at the Lake Dardanelle State Park. Children between the ages of 7 and
14 can
participate in the contest with the chance to earn a scholarship.
The event and instruction to youngsters will be facilitated by the Arkansas
BASS Federation.
Following the Lake Dardanelle event, the four-event Bassmaster Elite 50
series
travels the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Columbus, Miss., May 19-22, to
Prattville, Ala., on the Alabama River, June 2-5, and concludes on the Ohio
and
Cumberland Rivers in Paducah, Ky., June 16-19.
Day 1 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Tim Horton |
Tuscumiba, AL |
5 |
17-07 |
| 2 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
5 |
17-03 |
| 3 |
Kelly Jordon |
Mineola, TX |
5 |
16-04 |
| 4 |
George Cochran |
Hot Springs, AR |
5 |
15-02 |
| 5 |
Brian Snowden |
Springfield, MO |
5 |
15-01 |
| 6 |
Stacey D. King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
5 |
14-14 |
| 7 |
Jay Yelas |
Tyler, TX |
5 |
14-13 |
| 8 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
5 |
14-10 |
| 9 |
Kenyon Hill |
Norman, OK |
5 |
14-04 |
| 9 |
Randy Howell |
Springville, AL |
5 |
14-04 |
| 11 |
Jim Bitter |
Fruitland Park, FL |
5 |
13-15 |
| 12 |
Mike Wurm |
Hot Springs, AR |
5 |
13-12 |
13. Ron Shuffield
Bismarck, Ark. 4
13-09
Day 1: 4 13-09
14. Gary Klein
Weatherford, Texas 5 13-02
Day 1: 5 13-02
15. Kevin VanDam
Kalamazoo, Mich. 5
13-00
Day 1: 5 13-00
16. Rick Clunn
Ava, Mo.
3 12-11
Day 1: 3 12-11
17. Mark Menendez
Paducah, Ky.
5 12-10
Day 1: 5 12-10
18. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J.
5 12-08
Day 1: 5 12-08
19. Todd Auten
Lake Wylie, S.C. 5
12-04
Day 1: 5 12-04
20. Bernie Schultz
Gainesville, Fla. 5 12-03
Day 1: 5 12-03
21. Randy Blaukat
Lamar, Mo.
5 12-00
Day 1: 5 12-00
22. Brent Chapman
Shawnee, Kan. 5
11-15
Day 1: 5 11-15
23. Alton Jones
Waco, Texas
5 11-14
Day 1: 5 11-14
24. Dean Rojas
Grand Saline, Texas 5 11-10
Day 1: 5 11-10
25. Bud Pruitt
Spring, Texas 5
11-06
Day 1: 5 11-06
26. Edwin Evers
Mannsville, Okla. 5 11-01
Day 1: 5 11-01
27. Ben Matsubu
Hemphill, Texas 5
11-00
Day 1: 5 11-00
28. Larry Nixon
Bee Branch, Ark. 4
10-11
Day 1: 4 10-11
29. Gerald Swindle Hayden,
Ala. 5
10-10
Day 1: 5 10-10
30. David Fritts
Lexington, N.C. 3
10-06
Day 1: 3 10-06
31. John Murray
Phoenix, Ariz. 4
10-05
Day 1: 4 10-05
32. O T Fears III
Sallisaw, Okla. 4
10-02
Day 1: 4 10-02
33. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Gainesville, Fla.
5 10-00
Day 1: 5 10-00
34. Peter E Thliveros Jacksonville, Fla.
4 9-15
Day 1: 4 9-15
35. Mark Davis
Mount Ida, Ark. 5
9-10
Day 1: 5 9-10
36. Ishama Monroe
Patterson, Calif. 4
9-06
Day 1: 4 9-06
37. Denny Brauer
Camdenton, Mo. 3
8-15
Day 1: 3 8-15
38. Todd Faircloth Jasper,
Texas 4
8-14
Day 1: 4 8-14
39. Paul L Elias
Pachuta, Miss. 3
8-11
Day 1: 3 8-11
40. David Wharton Sam
Rayburn, Texas 3 7-11
Day 1: 3 7-11
41. Brett Hite
Phoenix, Ariz. 3
7-06
Day 1: 3 7-06
42. Robert Lee
Angels Camp, Calif. 3 6-15
Day 1: 3 6-15
43. Chad Brauer
Osage Beach, Mo. 3
6-14
Day 1: 3 6-14
44. Roland Martin
Naples, Fla.
3 6-07
Day 1: 3 6-07
45. Davy Hite
Prosperity, S.C. 1
3-11
Day 1: 1 3-11
46. Kevin Wirth
Crestwood, Ky. 1
2-10
Day 1: 1 2-10
47. Tom Biffle
Wagoner, Okla. 1
1-14
Day 1: 1 1-14
48. Dustin Wilks
Rocky Mount, N.C. 1
1-09
Day 1: 1 1-09
49. Jack A Gadlage Benton,
Ky.
0 0-00
Day 1: 0 0-00
49. Skeet Reese
Auburn, Calif. 0
0-00
Day 1: 0 0-00
From BASS
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