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McClelland Leads After
Two Days at BASS Tour Finale
 MANNING,
S.C. - A bare 13 ounces anchor Arkansan Mike McClelland to the second round
lead of the season-ending CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on Santee Cooper
Reservoir.
The final Tour event is shaping up to be a barnburner, with the CITGO
Bassmaster Angler of the Year race to be decided over the weekend, along
with the fates of anglers hoping to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite 50
series and 25 CITGO Bassmaster Classic spots awarded from the Tour.
"I've got to give a little thanks to Marty Stone, a good friend of mine,"
said
McClelland, who brought in a total of 40 pounds, 11 ounces using finesse
baits.
"I really haven't fished this lake that much and Marty was just gracious
enough to share some areas and patterns that should work. My goal when I
came
down here was to make the top 12. It's definitely changed now that I feel
like
I've got a shot at winning."
McClelland has a thin lead over Louisiana's Greg Hackney, who stands in
second
with 39-14, but their battle for the leaderboard isn't the most dramatic
story
of the week. On Saturday, Hackney will get his last chance to win or lose
the
CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, and must finish eighth or higher
to
claim the $111,550 prize.
Current points leader Gerald Swindle of Alabama finished 39th in the
tournament
and will not fish Saturday, instead waiting on pins and needles until
Hackney
weighs in at the John C. Land III Landing at 3:30 p.m.
Momentum is heavily on Hackney's side. In addition to locking up the $10,000
Bassmaster Rookie of the Year award Friday, his 21-4 catch won the day's
Busch
Heavyweight award, bringing his total weight up to 39-14 and earning him a
$1,000 bonus.
"I feel good, you know, but not real good," Hackney said. "I've had trouble
breathing all day. If I don't think about it, I'm okay. I'm ready for it to
be over with. I've been thinking about other things ...I couldn't even
explain
what it would mean to me. I really couldn't."
The field was cut Friday to the top 12 pros and amateurs, including
Florida's
Terry Scroggins (36-15), Texas's Cody Bird (36-8), Arizona's Mark Kile
(36-7),
California's Skeet Reese (36-6), Texas's Matt Reed (34-14), Texas's Dean
Rojas
(33-15), Missouri's Brian Snowden (33-11), California's Aaron Martens
(33-4),
Florida's Shaw Grigsby Jr. (33-2) and Texas's Kelly Jordon (33-2).
Missouri pro Denny Brauer brought in a 9-pound, 7-ounce bass Friday to take
home the $1,000 Purolator Big Bass of the day bonus. If that bass, currently
the largest caught at the Santee Cooper event, holds out through Sunday,
Purolator will reward Brauer with another $1,000 check for the Purolator Big
Bass of the Tournament. On the amateur side, it was Alabama's Tommy Bryant
whose 8-06 lunker earned him $500 from Purolator.
South Carolina's Howard Stephens is currently leading the amateur field on
Santee Cooper. Stephens' two-day catch of 16-11 is only 2 ounces ahead of
second place angler Walter Stringer of Alabama, who has 16-9. North
Carolina's
Gary Abernethy is currently sitting third with 15-08.
The heat gets turned up on the field again Saturday, when the field will cut
to
the Super Six pros. Launch is from the John C. Land III Landing at 6:30 a.m.
Weigh-ins, also held at the landing, will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Fans can catch the finale of the CITGO Bassmaster Tour presented by Busch
Beer
on the Santee Cooper Lakes, Saturday, April 3 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT
on
ESPN2.
Day 2 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Mike McClelland |
Vella Vista, AR |
10 |
40-11 |
| 2 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
10 |
39-14 |
| 3 |
Terry Scroggins |
Palatka, FL |
10 |
36-15 |
| 4 |
Cody Bird |
Granbury, TX |
10 |
36-08 |
| 5 |
Mark Kile |
Tonto Basin, AZ |
10 |
36-07 |
| 6 |
Skeet Reese |
Auburn, CA |
10 |
36-06 |
| 7 |
Matt Reed |
Madisonville, TX |
9 |
34-14 |
| 8 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
10 |
33-15 |
| 9 |
Brian Snowden |
Springfield, MO |
9 |
33-11 |
| 10 |
Aaron Martens |
Castaic, CA |
10 |
33-04 |
| 11 |
Shaw E. Grigsby, Jr. |
Gainesville, FL |
10 |
33-02 |
| 11 |
Kelly Jordon |
Mineola, TX |
10 |
33-02 |
The following anglers did not qualify to fish
the final two days.
13. Tim Horton
Tuscumbia, Ala. 9
32-04 251 $5,400.00
Day 1: 5 18-05 Day 2: 4 13-15
14. Kevin Wirth
Crestwood, Ky. 10
31-15 248 $5,300.00
Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 17-07
15. Brett Hite
Phoenix, Ariz. 9
31-08 250 $6,200.00
Day 1: 5 23-02 Day 2: 4
8-06
16. Chris Baumgardner Gastonia, N.C.
10 30-07 243 $5,100.00
Day 1: 5 20-00 Day 2: 5 10-07
17. Darryl Burkhardt Gresham, Ore.
9 30-04 241 $5,000.00
Day 1: 4 13-15 Day 2: 5 16-05
18. Peter Thliveros Jacksonville,
Fla. 10 30-02 239
$4,900.00
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 16-05
19. Davy Hite
Prosperity, S.C. 10 30-01
237 $4,800.00
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 14-04
20. Dennis Kolender Henderson,
Nev. 10 29-05
235 $4,700.00
Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 15-07
21. Charlie Weyer West
Hills, Calif. 10 29-01 233
$4,600.00
Day 1: 5 15-11 Day 2: 5 13-06
22. Alton Jones
Waco, Texas
10 28-14 231 $4,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 5 12-14
23. R J Bennett
Grass Valley, Calif. 10 28-07 229
$4,400.00
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 15-04
24. Marcel Veenstra Brighton,
Mich. 9 28-06
227 $4,300.00
Day 1: 5 15-15 Day 2: 4 12-07
25. Lee Bailey
Hebron, Conn. 10
28-00 225 $4,200.00
Day 1: 5 9-03 Day 2: 5
18-13
26. Tommy Martin
Hemphill, Texas 9
27-13 223 $4,100.00
Day 1: 4 16-00 Day 2: 5 11-13
27. Jack Gadlage
Benton, Ky.
8 27-09 221 $3,900.00
Day 1: 5 17-10 Day 2: 3
9-15
28. Harold Allen
Shelbyville, Texas 10 27-06 219
$3,800.00
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 5 11-10
29. Bernie Schultz
Gainesville, Fla. 9 27-03
217 $3,700.00
Day 1: 4 12-13 Day 2: 5 14-06
30. Stacey King
Reeds Spring, Mo. 8 26-13
215 $3,600.00
Day 1: 3 16-06 Day 2: 5 10-07
31. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J.
10 26-12 213 $3,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 5 15-12
32. O T Fears III
Sallisaw, Okla. 9
26-09 211 $3,400.00
Day 1: 4 14-06 Day 2: 5 12-03
33. Gary Klein
Weatherford, Texas 7 25-08
209 $3,300.00
Day 1: 4 12-07 Day 2: 3 13-01
34. Mark Tyler
Scottsdale, Ariz. 10 25-06
207 $3,200.00
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 11-07
35. Casey Iwai
Laveen, Ariz. 9
25-05 205 $3,100.00
Day 1: 4 11-02 Day 2: 5 14-03
36. Randy Howell
Springville, Ala. 9 25-03
203 $3,000.00
Day 1: 4 9-13 Day 2: 5
15-06
37. Rick Clunn
Ava, Mo.
10 25-02 201 $2,900.00
Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 11-04
38. Steve Sennikoff Forney, Texas
8 25-00 199 $2,800.00
Day 1: 3 8-09 Day 2: 5
16-07
39. Jim Bitter
Fruitland Park, Fla. 8 24-11 197
$2,600.00
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 3
8-15
39. Ron Shuffield
Bismarck, Ark. 9
24-11 197 $2,600.00
Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 4 13-05
39. Gerald Swindle Hayden,
Ala. 9
24-11 197 $3,100.00
Day 1: 4 11-07 Day 2: 5 13-04
42. Pete Ponds
Madison, Miss. 8
24-04 191 $2,500.00
Day 1: 4 11-11 Day 2: 4 12-09
43. Curt Lytle
Suffolk, Va.
8 24-02 189 $2,375.00
Day 1: 3 6-10 Day 2: 5
17-08
43. Takahiro Omori Emory,
Texas 10
24-02 189 $2,375.00
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 10-01
43. Jason Quinn
Clover, S.C.
8 24-02 189 $2,375.00
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 3
9-14
43. Ray Sedgwick
Cross, S.C.
9 24-02 189 $2,375.00
Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 4
7-03
47. Denny Brauer
Camdenton, Mo. 7
24-01 181 $3,300.00
Day 1: 4 8-07 Day 2: 3
15-10
48. Randy Dearman
Onalaska, Texas 8
23-05 179 $2,300.00
Day 1: 3 12-15 Day 2: 5 10-06
49. Lance Vick
Mineola, Texas 9
23-04 177 $2,200.00
Day 1: 4 4-14 Day 2: 5
18-06
50. Mark Menendez
Paducah, Ky.
9 22-14 175 $2,200.00
Day 1: 5 7-01 Day 2: 4
15-13
From BASS
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