|
|
Two Time Classic
Champion Wins on Lake Guntersville
 Three
different Classic champions led the first three days of the Bassmaster Tour
event on Lake Guntersville, but two-time Bassmaster Classic champion George
Cochran
of Arkansas ended up with the $100,000 top award. Cochran boated just shy of
100 pounds of bass to win the event of the.
Cochran caught 29 pounds, 15 ounces today on a Wild Shiner Strike King
jerkbait, greenback and bone in color, bringing his four-day total up to
99-10, just six ounces shy of the century mark. The 29-15 catch was also the
largest sack of the day, earning Cochran another $1,000 as the Heavyweight
of the day.
"The trick to catching these fish, and catching big fish like I caught today
was, I would pull it down about 3 or 4 foot, twitch it twice and let it sit
for five or six seconds and every fish hit it when it was sitting still,"
Cochran said. "I could just watch the line jump.
"Today I was more patient because I knew where the fish were and I stayed in
the right area longer. I stared throwing 5 pounders back at 10 o'clock. It
took me till 11:30 (to get a limit), but I culled all of them by 2:30 and
when you're throwing 5 pounders (back) by 11 a.m., I didn't think anybody
could beat me. Right now, I want to just stop and enjoy this victory, but it
definitely gives me a lot of confidence going into anywhere."
Cochran's final catch was a full 9-9 over second place Stacy King. The
Missouri pro brought in an amazing sack Sunday (28-2), but just didn't have
enough to stave off the hard-charging Cochran. King followed Cochran's lead,
however, throwing a silver and black Normark Husky Jerk suspending jerkbait
all four days of the competition that saw him weigh in 90-1.
"I knew this lake could produce so much," King said. "George had been on a
good pattern so I didn't have any expectations, you know. Whatever happens,
happens."
Michigan's Kevin VanDam, another Classic champion, brought in 23-2 Sunday to
give him a four-day total of 87-3. Sunday's catch also included an 8-pound
5-ounce bass that proved to be the largest of the day, earning him $1,000
from Purolator for the Big Bass of the Day. Also receiving $1,000 from
Purolator was amateur angler William Robinson of Clintwood Missouri. His
9-10 lunker on Day 2 held out to win the Purolator Big Bass of the
Tournament, and Robinson's award marks the first time an amateur has won the
overall tournament honors.
Missouri's Chad Brauer (83-13), New Jersey's Mike Iaconelli (66-1) and
Texas' Zell Rowland (60-10) rounded out the Super Six of the tournament.
Brauer's fourth place finish put him atop the assmaster Angler of the Year
standings with 671 points. Iaconelli is close behind with 656. Previous
leader, Arkansan Scott Suggs is currently in third spot and still leading
the Rookie of the Year race.
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 4 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
Winnings |
| 1 |
George Cochran |
Hot Springs, AR |
20 |
99-10 |
$103,000.00 |
| 2 |
Stacey D. King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
20 |
90-01 |
$39,000.00 |
| 3 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
20 |
87-03 |
$25,000.00 |
| 4 |
Chad Brauer |
Osage Beach, MO |
20 |
83-13 |
$21,000.00 |
| 5 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
15 |
66-01 |
$15,000.00 |
| 6 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
13 |
60-10 |
$14,000.00 |
By Brandon Shook
 |
 |