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Howell Leads Elite 50 on
Day Three
 RUSSELLVILLE,
Ark. : On Friday, at least, Alabama's Randy Howell was the best angler in a
field full of the top bass fishermen in the world. Howell caught 15
pounds of bass and claimed the lead at the Bassmaster Elite 50 while fishing
a six-hole course on Lake Dardanelle's Illinois Bayou area.
Howell was ecstatic about the lead going into the final day and believes he
has the momentum to win in the new series; inaugural outing as part of the
CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail.
"It's awesome to be leading," Howell said. "I haven't led a tournament
in
a long time, and I never won a Bassmaster tournament. I need the
points
because I haven't made the Classic yet, so it's really important that I get
these points."
In addition to a $1.6 million prize purse that will be distributed among the
Elite 50 after the fourth and final event of the series, the top 10 anglers
at
the end of the series will earn berths in this summer's world championship
of
professional bass fishing, the CITGO Bassmaster Classic.
In the meantime, Howell has a tournament to win. Friday's weigh-in
marked the
second of two field cuts, leaving just the Super Six anglers of the
tournament
to compete on a designated series of numbered fishing areas in what is
called a
Showdown format.
"I caught my limit on the second hole I went to," he said. "I culled
them all out, but it helped me gain confidence. I don't want to mess
up my
timing. My timing was good today. I caught 16 keepers today and
I caught fish
in every hole except (hole) five and I fished on high all day. I mean,
I
fished hard, you know, wide open. I covered a lot of water and really
burned
it up.
"I'm just looking forward to tomorrow and just keep it loose and free.
I've
got about 15 different rods in the boat and I'll probably use all 15."
Louisiana's Greg Hackney was 3 pounds behind Howell with 12 pounds.
The newly
crowned 2004 BASS Rookie of the Year will be looking to overcome that
deficit
for the final day, but the main thing is, he is having fun as the only
rookie
competing on the Elite 50 series.
"I'm just fishing, man, and I'm enjoying it," Hackney said. "It's
really
suited me, the places that we have been fishing, but I haven't won one yet,
so
I haven't been all that excited on how I've done. There's always room
for
improvement.
"(The course) is different, man, I mean it fishes kind of wild. I
started off
this morning and pretty much just shot the first 45 minutes because I was
fishing like a wild man and kind of messed myself up. I shouldn't have
done
that. It took a little bit to get myself gaited. I've never went
to a place
and had to shut down first thing in the morning and thought, 'I've got an
hour and 20 minutes and then I have to leave.' I'd like to start off
with
about a 5-pounder tomorrow, get things started off right."
Hackney's 12-pound catch also earned him $1,000 from Busch for the Busch
Heavyweight of the Day, an incentive program for the participating angler
with
the heaviest single-day catch.
Arizona's Dean Rojas caught a 3-12 lunker to earn the Purolator Big Bass of
the Day, the $1,000 prize awarded to the angler who brings in the heaviest
fish
of each day.
Texan Kelly Jordon (11-15), Kansas' Brent Chapman (11-14) Oklahoma's Kenyon
Hill (9-2) and Texas' Zell Rowland (8-10) round out the Super Six for the
final day.
The final day of the Bassmaster Elite 50 tournament will get under way
Saturday
from the Lake Dardanelle State Park. The launch begins at 10 a.m. with
weigh
in starting at 7 p.m.
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
Day 3 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Randy Howell |
Springville, AL |
5 |
15-00 |
| 2 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
5 |
12-00 |
| 3 |
Kelly Jordon |
Mineola, TX |
5 |
11-15 |
| 4 |
Brent Chapman |
Shawnee, KS |
5 |
11-14 |
| 5 |
Kenyon Hill |
Norman, OK |
4 |
9-02 |
| 6 |
Stacey D. King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
3 |
8-10 |
| 6 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
4 |
8-10 |
| 8 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
3 |
8-00 |
| 9 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
3 |
7-12 |
| 10 |
Gary Klein |
Weatherford, TX |
3 |
7-07 |
| 11 |
Jay Yelas |
Tyler, TX |
3 |
6-02 |
| 12 |
Tim Horton |
Tuscumbia, AL |
1 |
3-09 |
13. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Gainesville, Fla.
15 42-13 251 $500.00
Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 5 13-10
Day 3: 5 19-03
14. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J.
13 38-08 248 $500.00
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 3 10-07
Day 3: 5 15-09
15. Todd Auten
Lake Wylie, S.C. 14 36-14
245 $500.00
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 12-06
Day 3: 4 12-04
16. George Cochran Hot
Springs, Ark. 14 36-11 243
$500.00
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 4
8-04 Day 3: 5 13-05
17. Denny Brauer
Camdenton, Mo. 12
35-06 241 $500.00
Day 1: 3 8-15 Day 2: 4
10-09 Day 3: 5 15-14
17. Rick Clunn
Ava, Mo.
13 35-06 241 $500.00
Day 1: 3 12-11 Day 2: 5 10-08
Day 3: 5 12-03
17. Ron Shuffield
Bismarck, Ark. 13
35-06 241 $500.00
Day 1: 4 13-09 Day 2: 4
8-12 Day 3: 5 13-01
20. Larry Nixon
Bee Branch, Ark. 12 32-08
235 $500.00
Day 1: 4 10-11 Day 2: 5 14-01
Day 3: 3 7-12
21. Todd Faircloth Jasper,
Texas 12
32-02 233 $500.00
Day 1: 4 8-14 Day 2: 3
7-01 Day 3: 5 16-03
22. Peter E Thliveros Jacksonville, Fla.
12 31-03 231 $500.00
Day 1: 4 9-15 Day 2: 4
9-04 Day 3: 4 12-00
23. Randy Blaukat
Lamar, Mo.
12 31-00 229 $500.00
Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 4
9-07 Day 3: 3 9-09
24. O T Fears III
Sallisaw, Okla. 11
30-14 227 $500.00
Day 1: 4 10-02 Day 2: 3
9-01 Day 3: 4 11-11
24. David Fritts
Lexington, N.C. 12
30-14 227 $500.00
Day 1: 3 10-06 Day 2: 5 11-09
Day 3: 4 8-15
26. Chad Brauer
Osage Beach, Mo. 12 29-09
223 $500.00
Day 1: 3 6-14 Day 2: 5
14-05 Day 3: 4 8-06
27. Brett Hite
Phoenix, Ariz. 10
28-13 221 $2,500.00
Day 1: 3 7-06 Day 2: 5
17-03 Day 3: 2 4-04
28. Gerald Swindle Hayden,
Ala. 12
28-03 219 $500.00
Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 5 12-09
Day 3: 2 5-00
29. Mark Menendez
Paducah, Ky. 11
27-09 217 $500.00
Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 2
4-09 Day 3: 4 10-06
30. Paul L Elias
Pachuta, Miss. 11
27-06 215 $500.00
Day 1: 3 8-11 Day 2: 4
9-12 Day 3: 4 8-15
30. Skeet Reese
Auburn, Calif. 10
27-06 215 $500.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 5
14-08 Day 3: 5 12-14
32. Alton Jones
Waco, Texas
13 27-00 211 $500.00
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5
9-11 Day 3: 3 5-07
33. Bud Pruitt
Spring, Texas 11
26-15 209 $500.00
Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 4 11-00
Day 3: 2 4-09
34. David Wharton Sam
Rayburn, Texas 11 26-02 207
$500.00
Day 1: 3 7-11 Day 2: 5
12-12 Day 3: 3 5-11
35. Brian Snowden
Springfield, Mo. 10 25-13
205 $500.00
Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 2
5-01 Day 3: 3 5-11
36. Edwin Evers
Mannsville, Okla. 11 25-06
203 $500.00
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 3
5-04 Day 3: 3 9-01
37. Ben Matsubu
Hemphill, Texas 11
24-11 201 $500.00
Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 1
3-03 Day 3: 5 10-08
38. Tom Biffle
Wagoner, Okla. 10
24-07 199 $500.00
Day 1: 1 1-14 Day 2: 5
13-00 Day 3: 4 9-09
39. Dustin Wilks
Rocky Mount, N.C. 10 23-14
197 $500.00
Day 1: 1 1-09 Day 2: 5
13-00 Day 3: 4 9-05
40. Jim Bitter
Fruitland Park, Fla. 9 23-00 195
$500.00
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 3
6-01 Day 3: 1 3-00
41. Robert Lee
Angels Camp, Calif. 10 22-06 193
$500.00
Day 1: 3 6-15 Day 2: 3
7-05 Day 3: 4 8-02
42. Roland Martin
Naples, Fla.
9 21-15 191 $500.00
Day 1: 3 6-07 Day 2: 4
11-00 Day 3: 2 4-08
43. Bernie Schultz
Gainesville, Fla. 9 20-07
189 $500.00
Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 1
1-14 Day 3: 3 6-06
44. Mark Davis
Mount Ida, Ark. 9
20-03 187 $500.0
Day 1: 5 9-10 Day 2: 2
6-09 Day 3: 2 4-00
45. John Murray
Phoenix, Ariz. 8
20-02 185 $500.00
Day 1: 4 10-05 Day 2: 3
7-00 Day 3: 1 2-13
46. Mike Wurm
Hot Springs, Ark. 8 19-07
183 $500.00
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 2
4-01 Day 3: 1 1-10
47. Ishama Monroe
Patterson, Calif. 7 16-04
181 $500.00
Day 1: 4 9-06 Day 2: 2
4-04 Day 3: 1 2-10
48. Kevin Wirth
Crestwood, Ky. 6
15-15 179 $500.00
Day 1: 1 2-10 Day 2: 5
13-05 Day 3: 0 0-00
49. Davy Hite
Prosperity, S.C. 5
12-03 177 $500.00
Day 1: 1 3-11 Day 2: 0
0-00 Day 3: 4 8-08
50. Jack A Gadlage Benton,
Ky.
2 5-10 175 $500.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 2
5-10 Day 3: 0 0-00
From BASS
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