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Brauer Holds Slim Lead
on Lake Eufaula
 EUFAULA,
Ala. - Just six anglers remain after day three of competition on the CITGO
Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Eufaula. Fewer than 8 pounds
separate leader Denny Brauer from sixth-place angler Greg Hackney.
Brauer, of Camdenton, Mo., brought in a fairly small limit of fish on
Saturday, but it was enough to bring his weight up to 57 pounds, 12 ounces.
He only had five bites today, but made the most of them, holding onto the
lead by only two ounces over Texas angler Ben Matsubu.
"I haven't missed a fish and I haven't lost a fish, all three days," Brauer
said. "You're very fortunate when that happens, especially in some of the
places that I'm pulling those fish out of. If I'd have lost a couple of
fish, it would be a totally different story. I just need to get lucky and
catch a couple of big ones at the end of the day like I did the first two
days. Fishing's going to be tough for me. The fish I had the last few days
are gone."
The forecast calls for overcast skies on day three, but that doesn't faze
Brauer.
"I've got another pattern that worked really good in practice, which were
cloudy days," Brauer admitted. "I was almost going to exclusively use it in
the tournament but we had sunny days, so I went to the flipping pattern.
But, I've got a little top water pattern going, so if it gets right in the
morning, who knows? We might jump on a different horse and go heels."
Second place belongs to Matsubu, whose 23-10 catch on day three moved him up
from eighth place and also earned him an additional $1,000 from Busch for
the Busch Heavyweight of the day. If his catch remains one of the top 10
through the remainder of the Tour and Bassmaster Elite 50 series, he will
qualify for the $160,000 Busch Shootout Tournament in September.
Matsubu also caught the Purolator Big Bass of the day. His 6-15 lunker
earned him another $1,000 from Purolator.
Idaho's Bink Desaro (52-6), Arkansas' Ron Shuffield (52-1), California's
Skeet Reese (51-11) and Louisiana's Greg Hackney (49-14) round out the Super
Six.
The amateur competition ended Saturday with South Carolina's Billy Schwach
taking the $36,000 top prize. Schwach used a Luckycraft jerkbait and a
Yamomoto Senko to win the tour.
"I'm probably going to fish the co-angler side of the Opens again this
year," Schwach said. "I'd like to find a sponsor who could give me a boat to
use. I fished here November of last year, I didn't do all that well, but I
qualified to fish the Opens again last year."
In addition the $36,000 amateur top prize, he will receive a year of free
gasoline from CITGO.
The CITGO Bassmaster Tour on Lake Eufaula will conclude Sunday. Launch will
be at the Lakepoint State Park Marina at 6:30 a.m. Weigh-ins will be at the
marina beginning at 3:30 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 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday at Lakepoint State Park
Marina.
The CastingKids program presented by CITGO was held today in conjunction
with the BASS Sponsor Expo. Eight-year-old Mary Keeley Hall of Eufaula was
the winner on the 7-10 year old age group. Sean Sample, from Alford, Fla.,
was the winner in the 11-14 age group. The CastingKids program was
facilitated by the Bluff City Bassmasters.
Day 3 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Denny Brauer |
Camdenton, MO |
15 |
57-12 |
| 2 |
Ben Matsubu |
Hemphill, TX |
15 |
57-10 |
| 3 |
Bink Desaro |
Boise, ID |
15 |
52-06 |
| 4 |
Ron Shuffield |
Bismarck, AR |
15 |
52-01 |
| 5 |
Skeet Reese |
Auburn, CA |
15 |
51-11 |
| 6 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
15 |
49-14 |
The following pros did not qualify to fish the final day.
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
Points |
Winnings |
| 7 |
Peter Thliveros |
Jacksonville, FL |
15 |
46-10 |
272 |
$12,000.00 |
| 8 |
Mark Davis |
Mount Ida, AR |
14 |
43-15 |
268 |
$10,000.00 |
| 9 |
Alton Jones |
Waco, TX |
14 |
42-15 |
264 |
$9,000.00 |
| 10 |
David Fritts |
Lexington, N.C. |
11 |
39-00 |
265 |
$7,000.00 |
| 10 |
Mark Rogers |
Naples, FL |
8 |
39-00 |
265 |
$9,000.00 |
| 12 |
Gary Klein |
Weatherford, TX |
11 |
37-00 |
254 |
$5,500.00 |
From BASS
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