Martin Takes Lead After Three Days on Table Rock

KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. – With 19 wins over his career, BASS legend Roland Martin
holds the record for most BASS tournament victories. Heading into Sunday’s
final round of the CITGO Bassmaster Tour presented by Busch Beer, he stands
poised to break his own record.

Martin, who holds nine Angler of the Year titles, leaped into the lead Saturday
with a three-day total catch of 52 pounds, 1 ounce. If Martin wins on Sunday,
the $100,000 prize purse will put his all-time BASS winnings over $1 million,
boosting him into the BASS Millionaires’ Club, something that Martin has wanted
for a long time.

“I retired one time, 10 or 12 years ago and I came back and I’ve since done
pretty well on the Tour, but I’ve done terrible this year,” Martin said. “This
has just been the worst year I’ve ever had. I’m way down in the (Angler of the
Year) points and this is the best tournament that I’ve had, so I’ve felt like,
well, maybe I will retire but I’m not going to retire for sure until I hit the
million dollar mark.”

Martin, who is fishing a jig and a spinnerbait, stayed with the patterns to
bring in 18-14 Saturday and take the Busch Heavyweight catch of the day, worth
an additional $1,000 from Busch Beer. If his catch is one of the 10 heaviest
at the end of the Tour and Bassmaster Elite 50 series, he will have the
opportunity to fish the $160,000 Busch Shootout tournament on a mystery lake in
September.

But for now, the goal is to stay at the top of the field, which could be a
tricky proposition.

“I’ve narrowed it down to a very narrow window,” Martin added. “It’s a precise
water temperature, water clarity and type of pocket and the wind has to be a
certain way. You know all those things are critical, and I pretty well know
what to look for.”

Arkansas’ Mark Davis, who tied with Martin for second place on Friday, stayed
in the number two spot to make Saturday’s cut to the Super Six. His three-day
catch of 49-10 keeps him in the hunt for the victory.

“I’m in there,” said Davis, a former Angler of the Year and CITGO Bassmaster
Classic champion. “I’ve got a shot. That’s all you can ask for in a four-day
tournament, to have a chance to win going into the last day. It’s easy to have
a good day here and it’s also easy to have a bad day. I could have stayed
where I was yesterday … and I wouldn’t have caught anything, but when you’ve
got that confidence and you’ve got that momentum going, you have to keep riding
it.”

Alabama’s Gerald Swindle jumped from 11th to take the third spot with 17-13
sack that included a 7-3 bass, earning him $1,000 from Purolator for the
Purolator Big Bass of the day. His three-day catch of 44-15 is a mere 6 ounces
ahead of fourth place South Carolinian Todd Auten with 44-9. Mississippi’s
Paul Elias (40-5), who led the first two days, and Illinois’ Chad Morganthaler
(39-1) were fifth and sixth.

Competition concluded on the amateur side Saturday with North Carolina’s Terry
Chapman taking home $36,000 in cash and merchandise as well as a year’s worth
of CITGO gasoline. Chapman was thrilled with the win, especially since he had
never fished on Table Rock before.

“I’ve read for years and years about the lake and I’ve always wanted to fish
here and when it came up on the schedule, I hoped I got picked for it,” Chapman
said. “It kind of favors Beaver Lake, which I’ve fished a whole lot, but
nothing like where I live. I actually won a pro/am on Lake Murray back in ’96.
I’m retired, I don’t want to do anything but fish, and I love it.”

The $500 Purolator Big Bass award on the amateur side went to Arkansan John
Harris, who weighed in a 5-pound, 6-ounce lunker.

The CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on Table Rock Lake will conclude Sunday.
Launch begins at 6:45 a.m. from the What’s Up Dock Marina. Weigh-in will also
be held at the What’s Up Dock Marina beginning at 3 p.m.

Fans can watch "The CITGO Bassmasters" telecast of the Table Rock Lake
tournament on Saturday, March 13 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 the What’s Up Dock Marina.

Day 3 Pro Standings

Rank	Name	Hometown	Bass	Weight
1	Roland Martin	Naples, FL	15	52-01
2	Mark Davis	Mount Ida, AR	15	49-10
3	Gerald Swindle	Hayden, AL	14	44-15
4	Todd Auten	Lake Wylie, S.C.	12	44-09
5	Paul Elias	Pachuta, MS	11	40-05
6	Chad Morgenthaler	Coulterville, IL	12	39-01

The following anglers did not qualify to fish the final day.

Rank	Name	Hometown	Bass	Weight	Points	Winnings
7	Takahiro Omori	Emory, TX	12	35-14	272	$12,000.00
8	George Cochran	Hot Springs, AR	15	35-06	268	$10,000.00
9	Tom Burns	Carbondale, IL	11	29-09	264	$9,000.00
10	Jack Wade	Knoxville, TN	9	29-05	260	$8,000.00
11	John Murray	Phoenix, AZ	10	28-10	257	$6,000.00
12	Chad Brauer	Osage Beach, MO	8	26-02	254	$5,500.00