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Rogers Leads Early on
Lake Eufaula
EUFAULA, Ala. - Day one of the Eufaula CITGO Bassmaster Tour saw lots of
large bass, but none larger than that of Florida's Mark
Rogers. Rogers brought in a 9-pound, 6-ounce largemouth bass to anchor his
31-pound 3-ounce bag, giving him the early lead.
"You can catch a lot of threes and fours and fives down here, but this bag
here, it blew me away," Rogers said. "I thought I had 25 pounds and I missed
a
5 pounder that would have helped a little bit, but it was amazing.
"I don't want to say too much, but I'm (fishing) shallow and I'm flipping,"
he
added. "I don't like sight fishing; it's not my ball game. If I have to, I
have to, but hopefully at this tournament I won't have to do it."
Rogers also earned the $1,000 Busch Heavyweight prize for bringing in the
largest catch of the day. If his 31-3 sack remains one of the top 10 from
the
Tour and Bassmaster Elite 50 series, the Florida angler will earn an
invitation
to the inaugural Busch Shootout, a single-day tournament with a $160,000
prize
purse.
Rogers also earned $1,000 for the Purolator Big Bass of the day, and could
win
a $1,000 bonus from Purolator if it remains the biggest bass caught during
the
tournament.
Arkansas BASS veteran Ron Shuffield is happy with his day one catch of 23-8,
although he is more than 7 pounds out of the lead. Shuffield had what he
considers a great day.
"I was in a zone," Shuffield said. "I had a day where nothing went wrong. I
caught everything that bit me ... (it was) just a tremendous day. I love
this
old lake. I think I'm on a little something that I can catch them. The
pattern I'm on is not something where I think I'm going to get a lot of
bites.
I got on this in practice and didn't know I was on a pattern and I think
it's
just getting better."
While Rogers and Shuffield had a great day today, it was tame in comparison
to
the one that unfolded for Alabama pro Coby Carden. Carden asked his longtime
girlfriend, Jenny, to marry him on stage. She was completely surprised and
happily accepted.
"I had no idea," she said. "I would have had my nails done if I would have
had
any idea."
On the amateur side, South Carolina's Howard Stephens leads the field with
15-15, and Ohio's Robert Miller walked away $500 richer after day one. His
7-pound 2-ounce lunker was the Purolator Big Bass of the day on the amateur
side.
The CITGO Bassmaster Tour on Lake Eufaula will continue Friday. Launch will
be
at the Lakepoint State Park Marina at 6 a.m. Weigh-ins will be at the marina
beginning at 2:45 p.m.
Fans can watch "The CITGO Bassmasters" telecast of the Lake Eufaula
tournament
on Saturday, March 27 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
The CITGO Bassmaster Tour events this season feature the highly interactive
and
family friendly BASS Sponsor Expo area. Sponsors present interactive
exhibits
and provide a fun family experience for all ages. The Expo will take place
from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday at
Lakepoint State Park Marina.
The CastingKids program, presented by CITGO will be held in conjunction with
the BASS Sponsor Expo Saturday, from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Lakepoint
State
Park Marina. Children between the ages of 7 and 14 can participate in the
contest with the chance to earn a scholarship.
Day 1 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Mark Rogers |
Naples, FL |
5 |
31-03 |
| 2 |
Ron Shuffield |
Bismarck, AR |
5 |
23-08 |
| 3 |
Denny Brauer |
Camdenton, MO |
5 |
22-14 |
| 4 |
Gary Klein |
Weatherford, TX |
5 |
21-06 |
| 5 |
Charles Hammack |
New Caney, TX |
5 |
20-13 |
| 6 |
David Fritts |
Lexington, N.C. |
5 |
20-10 |
| 7 |
Ben Matsubu |
Hemphill, TX |
5 |
20-06 |
| 8 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
5 |
19-13 |
| 9 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
5 |
19-10 |
| 10 |
Skeet Reese |
Auburn, CA |
5 |
19-01 |
| 11 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
5 |
18-12 |
| 12 |
Morizo Shimizu |
Murrita, CA |
5 |
18-11 |
Angler
Hometown
Bass./Weight
13. Lance Vick
Mineola, Texas 5
18-04
Day 1: 5 18-04
14. Yusuke Miyazaki Mineola, Texas
5 17-15
Day 1: 5 17-15
15. Bink Desaro
Boise, Idaho
5 17-14
Day 1: 5 17-14
16. Chris Daves
Hopewell, Va. 5
17-11
Day 1: 5 17-11
16. Pete Ponds
Madison, Miss. 5
17-11
Day 1: 5 17-11
18. Brent Chapman
Shawnee, Kan. 5
17-10
Day 1: 5 17-10
19. Ray Sedgwick
Cross, S.C.
5 17-05
Day 1: 5 17-05
20. Peter Thliveros Jacksonville,
Fla. 5 17-04
Day 1: 5 17-04
21. Todd Auten
Lake Wylie, S.C. 5
17-03
Day 1: 5 17-03
22. Mark Davis
Mount Ida, Ark. 5
16-14
Day 1: 5 16-14
22. Chris Price
Church Hill, Md. 5
16-14
Day 1: 5 16-14
22. Gerald Swindle Hayden,
Ala. 5
16-14
Day 1: 5 16-14
25. Jim Bitter
Fruitland Park, Fla. 5 16-11
Day 1: 5 16-11
26. Guy Eaker
Cherryville, N.C. 5 16-09
Day 1: 5 16-09
27. Mark Tucker
Saint Louis, Mo. 5
16-06
Day 1: 5 16-06
28. Takahiro Omori Emory,
Texas 5
16-05
Day 1: 5 16-05
28. Danny White
Milledgeville, Ga. 5 16-05
Day 1: 5 16-05
30. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Gainesville, Fla.
5 15-15
Day 1: 5 15-15
31. Tom Burns
Carbondale, Ill. 5
15-14
Day 1: 5 15-14
32. Dustin Wilks
Rocky Mount, N.C. 5 15-13
Day 1: 5 15-13
33. Lee Bailey
Hebron, Conn. 5
15-09
Day 1: 5 15-09
33. Robert Lee
Angels Camp, Calif. 5 15-09
Day 1: 5 15-09
35. Kevin VanDam
Kalamazoo, Mich. 5
15-08
Day 1: 5 15-08
36. Marty Stone
Linden, N.C.
5 15-05
Day 1: 5 15-05
37. Alton Jones
Waco, Texas
5 15-02
Day 1: 5 15-02
38. Scott Suggs
Alexander, Ark. 5
15-00
Day 1: 5 15-00
39. Aaron Martens
Castaic, Calif. 5
14-14
Day 1: 5 14-14
40. Chris Baumgardner Gastonia, N.C.
5 14-13
Day 1: 5 14-13
40. Randy Dearman
Onalaska, Texas 5
14-13
Day 1: 5 14-13
42. Stephen Browning Conway, Ark.
5 14-12
Day 1: 5 14-12
42. Davy Hite
Prosperity, S.C. 5
14-12
Day 1: 5 14-12
42. Chad Morgenthaler Coulterville, Ill.
5 14-12
Day 1: 5 14-12
45. Jody Cordell
Norcross, Ga. 5
14-10
Day 1: 5 14-10
46. Dalton Bobo
Northport, Ala. 5
14-06
Day 1: 5 14-06
47. Kelly Jordon
Mineola, Texas 5
14-05
Day 1: 5 14-05
48. Sean Hoernke
Magnolia, Texas 5
14-01
Day 1: 5 14-01
49. Terry Baksay
Monroe, Conn. 5
13-15
Day 1: 5 13-15
50. Steve Daniel
Clewiston, Fla. 5
13-14
Day 1: 5 13-14
From BASS
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