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Three Classic Champs
Make Guntersville 'Super Six'
 Three
Classic champions are among the 'Super Six' anglers who will vie for victory
in the Sunday finals of the third event on the Bassmaster Tour.
Reigning Classic champion Michael Iaconelli was in the lead Saturday morning
when a dense blanket of fog loomed over Alabama's Lake Guntersville,
creating a two-hour delay. When the fog finally lifted and the anglers took
off, they faced tough fishing conditions that shook up the leader board
heading into the competition's final day.
Two-time Classic champion George Cochran is the man to beat after Day 3. The
pro brought in 23 pounds, 10 ounces of bass Saturday, heading into the final
day of competition with a total weight of 69-11. The fog delay didn't affect
Cochran's style much as he was catching fish throughout the shortened day.
"I've been catching two and a half limits a day," Cochran said. "I think
today, though, I only caught eight fish. I lost a 6-pounder right at the
boat today, too. The fog delay didn't affect me all that much because I've
been catching fish constantly. It was clear conditions today and what I had
to do was fish a lot slower.
"What I'm doing is ripping the bait and then pausing it for three or four
seconds and that's when they're hitting it. If you move the bait at a
constant speed, they won't hit it. It's moving too fast. They're sluggish.
But when the bait stops, they'll come up and hit it."
Cochran also received an additional $1,000 for becoming the Busch
Heavyweight of the day with a sack of fish that included a 7-pound lunker,
earning him another $1,000 for the Purolator Big Bass of the Day.
Cochran doesn't have much room to breathe, however. Missouri's Stacy King is
a pound behind with 68-11 over three days. Missouri's Chad Brauer (66-1),
2001 Classic champion Kevin VanDam of Michigan (64-1), New Jersey's Mike
Iaconelli (54-11), and Texas' Zell Rowland (51-6) round out the "Super Six"
who will compete for the $100,000 top prize on Sunday.
The amateur competition finished up Saturday with local angler Philip Dukes
taking home the top honors with a three-day weight of 45-7. The Alabama
native has fished many tournaments on Lake Guntersville, but admitted that
this one bested them all.
"This is the biggest tournament I've fished here by far," Dukes said. "I
wasn't nervous at all until this morning. When I got here and realized how
much I was leading by, I started to get worried. All the guys I fished with
here were great and I had a great time with all of them."
Dukes took home over $36,000 in cash and prizes including a year's worth of
free gasoline from CITGO.
Virginian Robert Wilkinson caught a 5-pound 4-ounce bass on Saturday,
earning $500 from Purolator for the Purolator Big Bass of the Day on the
amateur side.
The CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Guntersville will conclude Sunday.
Launch begins at 6:30 a.m. from the Lake Guntersville State Park. Weigh-in
will be held at the State Park as well beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Fans can watch "The CITGO Bassmasters" telecast of the Lake Guntersville
tournament on Saturday, March 6 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
Day 3 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
George Cochran |
Hot Springs, AR |
15 |
69-11 |
| 2 |
Stacey D. King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
15 |
68-11 |
| 3 |
Chad Brauer |
Osage Beach, MO |
15 |
66-01 |
| 4 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
15 |
64-01 |
| 5 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
12 |
54-11 |
| 6 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
11 |
51-06 |
Rank Name Hometown
Bass Weight Points Winnings
7. Mike Auten Benton, Ky. 11 47-09 272 $12,000.00
Day 1: 5 20-03 Day 2: 5 21-11 Day 3: 1 5-11
8. Jim Bitter Fruitland Park, Fla. 12 42-08 268 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-14 Day 2: 5 20-11 Day 3: 2 3-15
9. David Walker Sevierville, Tenn. 11 41-05 264 $9,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-11 Day 2: 5 19-01 Day 3: 1 3-09
10. Paul L Elias Pachuta, Miss. 11 41-03 260 $8,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 22-13 Day 3: 1 2-05
11. Charlie Hartley Grove City, Ohio 11 41-01 257 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-15 Day 2: 5 16-00 Day 3: 1 3-02
12. David Wharton Sam Rayburn, Texas 10 39-14 254 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 22-03 Day 2: 5 17-11 Day 3: 0 0-00
By Brandon Shook
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