Pros Struggle Through Smith Lake Practice

JASPER, Ala. - It may be the first time in years that Roland Martin's vast
experience fishing the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail doesn't give him an edge.

But even Martin, an elder statesman who fished his first BASS tournament in 1970, won't have an advantage when the pros begin competing in the second event on the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Tour. That's because the
tournament will be on Alabama's Smith Lake, and BASS hasn't launched into those waters since 1968. Instead, Martin and most of the other 156 pros fishing the Tour will be fishing nearly blind, with only three days of practice to prepare.


During practice, Arizona's John Murray has been finding the bigger fish, though scarce right now, are in shallower areas. He hopes that the heavy rain in the forecast will bring those fish out, but expects 12 pounds per day will win the event.

"There are some big spots in this lake," Murray said. "We've got some bad
weather coming in, too, and that should really bring the bigger fish up. I
went out (Tuesday) and the bite was a lot better because it was cloudy. When the sun came out, it got a little tough.

"This is the first time I've ever been on this lake," he added. "I've been
really excited to fish here."

Alabama native Coby Carden has fished on the waterway a handful of times and
believes it fishes much the same as a lake he won on in 2002, Logan Martin.

"It's the same kind of fishing," Carden said. "There are a lot of rocks and
laydowns like Martin, but you have to fish a lot deeper and slower here. I've
been catching them on a Yum Finesse worm about 15 to 20 feet deep, but the
weights will be down, I think, for this tournament. I don't think there will
be many limits weighed in."

Another issue that the anglers will have to deal with is the slot limit on
Smith Lake, which limits legal catches to fish smaller than 13 inches or larger
than 16 inches. Because BASS rules allow fish 12 inches or longer, anglers may
go after small bass in the 12- to 13-inch range, only targeting lunkers once
they have secured a five-fish limit. In practice, the anglers have struggled
to work around the slot limit.

"Fishing isn't tough here," said Arkansas' Scott Suggs. "Catching fish hasn't
been a problem, but you can only get about three or four keepers a day.

"I'm sure there are probably some schools of big fish wadded up somewhere that
someone will find and come in with a big limit. I'm scared to say what it'll
take to win, though."

Fans can catch the second event of the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail
on Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala., Smith Lake, Jasper, Ala., Feb. 14 at 10:30 a.m.
ET/9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.

A popular component of the CITGO Bassmaster Tour events this season is the
highly interactive and family friendly BASS Sponsor Expo area. Sponsors
present interactive exhibits and provide a fun family experience for all ages.
The Expos take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and from 12 p.m. until
6 Sunday at the Old Walker County Airport.

The Jasper BASS Club will also host a Bassmasster CastingKids workshop and
scholarship competition for children ages 7-14, Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1
p.m. at the Old Walker County Airport.
 

BASS Pros Return to Smith Lake After Long Absence

JASPER, Ala. - The last time a BASS tournament was held at Smith Lake, the year
was 1968 and the legendary Bill Dance ruled the roost.

The world of professional fishing has progressed light years since those early
days, as the Jasper community will witness when the Alabama CITGO Bassmaster
Tour presented by Busch Beer comes to town Feb. 5-8 with a $100,000 top prize
at stake.

A field of 150 pros will face an unusual challenge from the 21,200-acre
reservoir on the Sipsey Fork River (located an hour north of Birmingham). The
43-year-old Alabama Power Co. impoundment is picturesque with its numerous
bluffs, sloughs, bays and feeder streams.

Smith Lake, with 500-plus miles of shoreline, is dominated by deep, clear
conditions. Deep and clear isn't a combination that BASS pros encounter very
often.

Make no mistake, though; these waters are loaded with largemouth and spotted
bass. In fact, the lake has surrendered five world-record spotted bass (two of
which came from Dismal Creek).

While Smith Lake will be unfamiliar fishing grounds to most of the Tour pros,
veteran Alabama angler Gerald Swindle grew up fishing these waters. He expects
the pros to struggle to catch bass that top the tournament's 16-inch minimum
length limit (which resulted because of Smith's slot limit).

"As far as numbers, it's probably one of the best lakes in the country," the
four-time CITGO Bassmaster Classic qualifier said. "But when it comes to
beating the slot, it's the worst.

"I think there's going to be a lot of fish caught, but fishing the slot limit
is going to be a big obstacle to overcome. You could go out and catch 25 fish a
day and still zero."

Swindle expects the February weather conditions to make the tournament an
endurance contest as well.

"From the long-term forecast it looks to be bitterly cold, but the good thing
about that is generally the fish will still bite there if you can still stand
it," he said. "It could be bitter cold, so it's going to be a deep bite without
a doubt and pretty low weights all the way around.

"I think the fish are going to be caught (at) 30 to 40 feet. It's pretty clear
and there are a lot of fish that live deep in this lake. The colder it is, the
deeper it seems to drive them."

In addition to daily launches and weigh-ins, the second Tour stop will also
have a lot to offer for local families, including the BASS Sponsor Expo, a free
festival of interactive exhibits that will be held Saturday, Feb. 7 from 10
a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 8 from noon-6 p.m., at the Old Walker County
Airport. The Jasper BASS Club will also host a Bassmaster CastingKids workshop
and scholarship competition for children ages 7-14, Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to
1 p.m. at the Old Walker County Airport.

The Alabama tournament is the second of six Tour events. Daily launches will
be at Lewis Smith Lake Dam - Smith Dam Hydro Electric Plant at 6:30 a.m.
Thursday and Friday and 6:45 on Saturday and Sunday. Weigh-ins Thursday and
Friday will be at Lewis Smith Lake Dam - Smith Dam Hydro Electric Plant at 3
p.m. and at the Old Walker County Airport Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m.

THE CITGO BASSMASTERS ON ESPN2
You can catch the second event of the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail on
Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala., Saturday, Feb. 14 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT on
ESPN2.

SCHEDULE - CITGO BASSMASTER TOUR EVENT 2

Registration - Wed., Feb. 4, 3 p.m.
Community Health Systems Building

Briefing - Wed., Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m.
Community Health Systems Building

Day 1 launch - Thurs., Feb. 5, 6:30 a.m.
Smith Dam Hydro Electric Plant

Day 1 weigh-in - Thurs., Feb. 5, 3 p.m.
Smith Dam Hydro Electric Plant

Day 2 launch - Fri., Feb. 6, 6:30 a.m.
Smith Dam Hydro Electric Plant

Day 2 weigh-in - Fri., Feb. 6, 3 p.m.
Smith Dam Hydro Electric Plant

Day 3 launch - Sat., Feb. 7, 6:45 a.m.
Smith Dam Hydro Electric Plant

BASS Sponsor Expo - Sat., Feb. 7, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Old Walker County Airport

CastingKids Competition - Sat., Feb. 7, 10:30 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Old Walker County Airport

Day 3 weigh-in and cut - Sat., Feb. 7, 4 p.m.
Old Walker County Airport

Final launch - Sun., Feb. 8., 6:45 a.m.
Smith Dam Hydro Electric Plant

BASS Sponsor Expo - Sun., Feb. 8, 12 p.m.- 6 p.m.
Old Walker County Airport

Final weigh-in - Sun., Feb. 8, 4 p.m.
Old Walker County Airport

BASS SPONSOR EXPO (ADMISSION IS FREE)
A popular component of the CITGO Bassmaster Tour events this season is the
highly interactive and family friendly BASS Sponsor Expo area. Sponsors
present interactive exhibits and provide a fun family experience for all ages.
The Expos take place at Old Walker County Airport from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on
Saturdays and from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Sundays.

NEXT STOP
The CITGO Bassmaster Tour will head to Guntersville, Ala., for the third event
of the 2004 season. The competition will take place on Lake Guntersville, Feb.
26-29.

CLASSIC WATCH
The top 25 anglers in point standings from the CITGO Bassmaster Tour will earn
a berth in the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer, however,
there are already 12 anglers who have already qualified for the 2004 Classic
through the CITGO Bassmaster Open divisions. These 12 include:

CITGO Bassmaster Open - Southern Division
Tim Horton
David Walker
Denny Brauer

CITGO Bassmaster Open - Central Division
Edwin Evers
Tim Carroll
Steve Sennikoff

CITGO Bassmaster Open - Northern Division
Art Ferguson III
Kevin Wirth
Chuck Economou

CITGO Bassmaster Open - Western Division
Bink Desaro
John Murray
Skeet Reese

BASS RECORDS AT SMITH LAKE

Last BASS event hosted/winner
November 1968/Bill Dance (48-03)

Two previous BASS events hosted at Leesburg
Past Winners
1968 Bill Dance (48-03)
1967 Gerald Blanchard (42-00)

Heaviest winning weight:
Bill Dance 48-03 (1968)

Lowest winning weight:
Gerald Blanchard 42-00 (1967)

LAST TIME IN JASPER
BASS legend Bill Dance was on a hot streak and won his second consecutive event
with a 48-pound, 3-ounce catch on Lake Jasper, becoming the first angler to win
two in a row on the BASS circuit.

BASS IN ALABAMA
The Jasper event will mark the 61st event conducted in Alabama, which holds
state bragging rights for hosting the most BASS events.

ORIGINS OF THE TOUR
While BASS has conducted tournaments since 1967, records for the CITGO
Bassmaster Tour presented by Busch Beer begin with the 1994-95 season, as that
was the first year the pro-am tournaments earned points toward the Angler of
the Year award

The heaviest total weight tournament in CITGO Bassmaster Tour history took
place in April 2002 on Alabama's Lake Guntersville, where the field of pros
brought in an astonishing 5,645 pounds, 4 ounces of bass.

BASS is the world's largest fishing organization, sanctioning more than 20,000
tournaments worldwide through its Federation. The CITGO Bassmaster Tournament
Trail presented by Busch Beer is the oldest and most prestigious pro
bass-fishing tournament circuit and continues to set the standard for
credibility, professionalism and sportsmanship as it has since 1968.

BASS MILLIONAIRES CLUB
Seven anglers will begin the 2004 Tour in the BASS Millionaires Club. Those
are the anglers who have racked up over $1 million in career BASS prize money.
Those seven anglers are:

1 Denny Brauer $1,715,664*
2 Rick Clunn $1,527,769
3 Larry Nixon $1,521,733
4 Jay Yelas $1,242,732
5 Shaw Grigsby $1,208,555
6 Kevin VanDam $1,173,450
7 Gary Klein $1,153,544

*All totals are as of Jan. 1, 2004

Two anglers to watch in 2004 are Ron Shuffield and Roland Martin. At the
beginning of the Tour season Shuffield and Martin were poised to join the BASS
Millionaires Club with all-time winnings of $969,996 and $967,421 respectively.

BASSMASTER CASTINGKIDS
The Bassmaster CastingKids program presented by CITGO will be held in
conjunction with the BASS Sponsor Expo Saturday, Feb. 3 from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
at the Old Walker County Airport. 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 conducted by the Jasper BASS
Club.

2004 CITGO BASSMASTER TOUR SCHEDULE

Site: Harris Chain of Lakes - Leesburg, Fla.
Jan. 29-Feb. 1
Site: Smith Lake - Jasper, Ala.
Feb. 5-8
Site: Lake Guntersville - Guntersville, Ala.
Feb. 26-29
Site: Table Rock Lake - Kimberling City, Mo.
March 4-7
Site: Lake Eufaula - Eufaula, Ala.
March 18-21
Site: Santee Cooper Reservoir - Manning, S.C.
March 25-28

2004 BASSMASTER ELITE 50 SCHEDULE

Site: Lake Dardenelle - Russellville, Ark.
April 14-17
Site: Tenn-Tom Waterway - Columbus, Miss.
May 19-May 22
Site: Alabama River - Prattville, Ala.
June 2-5
Site: Ohio/Cumberland/Tennessee Rivers - Paducah, Ken.
June 16-19

From BASS