Hackney Leads Day One of Elite 50 Finale

PADUCAH, Ky. – After a night that saw over 4 inches of rainfall bring the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers up to flood stage, anglers on the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail found a changed fishery for the first day of the Bassmaster Elite 50 series’ final event.

Despite the unwelcome changes, Louisiana’s Greg Hackney brought in a five-fish limit that tipped the scales at 14 pounds, 15 ounces and gave him the lead heading into Thursday’s round. Although the limit was small by normal standards on the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail, Hackney was happy to have it.

“I thought, coming into it, that 16 or 17 (pounds) would make the cut,” said Hackney, who qualified for the elite field as the reigning CITGO Bassmaster Rookie of the Year. “But now I don’t know. It was one of those deals where, coming into the tournament, it could either be really good or be really bad. I thought that I had the potential to catch the fish that I had today, but I didn’t know.”

After Thursday’s round, the field will be cut to the top 12 anglers. Although the full field will fish on Friday for the opportunity to improve the anglers’ final places in the standings, only the top 12 will have the opportunity to make Friday’s cut to the Super Six and fish in the championship round. With so much at stake – including more than $1 million in prize money and 10 berths to this summer’s CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer, the anglers are more than a little nervous about any change to the conditions.

“When the water came up, it really scared me this morning because I didn’t think I could catch them as well today,” Hackney said. “I think I could have caught them better had it stayed down, but I did better than I thought I could do today with it coming up. The fish have moved around and they’ve gotten into some stuff so that I can’t present a bait to them now. I can present a bait to them, but not the one that I need to.

“I’m just going to play it day by day, because it’s going to change. I’m going to go back to that same place tomorrow and try to get five and make the cut. I’ll worry about the rest then.”

Hackney’s big catch also earned him $1,000 for the Busch Heavyweight award, the prize given for the largest sack of each tournament day, and contained a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass that earned him another $1,000 for the Purolator Big Bass of the Day. If the 4-15 holds out for the remainder of the event, Hackney will take home an additional $1,000 for the Purolator Big Bass of the Tournament.

Michigan’s Kevin VanDam followed Hackney’s lead Wednesday with a limit of his own. VanDam’s 14-pound, 4-ounce limit was good enough to put him in second place and also allowed him to keep the Bassmaster Elite 50 series points lead.

“I just got to a spot where they were biting,” VanDam said. “I caught one fish off this one spot in practice when I fished with my dad and I told him then that they should stack up there.

“The area has got current and it’s got some good rocks on the bottom and that’s what those smallmouths like. It’s really tough on this river right now, though. With all these great anglers, you never know what can happen with the championship.”

Arizona’s Dean Rojas (12-3), Texas’ Alton Jones (11-3) and Arkansas’ Mike Wurm (10-5) rounded out the top five after day one.

The points race continues to cast a long shadow over this series, with the eventual points champion taking home a $150,000 grand prize for the four events.

Competition continues Thursday. Launches will be daily at 10 a.m. at the downtown Paducah Riverfront with the indoor weigh-ins at J.R.’s Executive Inn and Convention Center beginning at 7 p.m.
 

Day 1 Pro Standings

Rank	Name	Hometown	Bass	Weight
1	Greg Hackney	Gonzales, LA	5	14-15
2	Kevin VanDam	Kalamazoo, MI	5	14-04
3	Dean Rojas	Grand Saline, TX	5	12-03
4	Alton Jones	Waco, TX	5	11-03
5	Mike Wurm	Hot Springs, AR	5	10-05
6	David Wharton	Sam Rayburn, TX	5	9-01
7	Larry Nixon	Bee Branch, AR	5	9-00
8	Denny Brauer	Camdenton, MO	4	8-15
9	Dustin Wilks	Rocky Mount, NC	5	8-09
10	Gary Klein	Weatherford, TX	5	8-07

11. Rick Clunn Ava, Mo. 5 8-05
Day 1: 5 8-05
12. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J. 5 8-04
Day 1: 5 8-04
13. Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 5 8-03
Day 1: 5 8-03
14. Chad Brauer Osage Beach, Mo. 5 8-01
Day 1: 5 8-01
15. Mark Menendez Paducah, Ky. 5 7-13
Day 1: 5 7-13
16. Jim Bitter Fruitland Park, Fla. 5 7-12
Day 1: 5 7-12
17. Skeet Reese Auburn, Calif. 5 7-10
Day 1: 5 7-10
18. George Cochran Hot Springs, Ark. 5 7-01
Day 1: 5 7-01
19. Kenyon Hill Norman, Okla. 3 6-14
Day 1: 3 6-14
20. Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 5 6-11
Day 1: 5 6-11
20. John Murray Phoenix, Ariz. 4 6-11
Day 1: 4 6-11
22. Brent Chapman Shawnee, Kan. 4 6-05
Day 1: 4 6-05
23. Ishama Monroe Patterson, Calif. 5 5-15
Day 1: 5 5-15
24. Paul L Elias Pachuta, Miss. 3 5-14
Day 1: 3 5-14
25. Brian Snowden Springfield, Mo. 4 5-07
Day 1: 4 5-07
26. Ron Shuffield Bismarck, Ark. 3 5-06
Day 1: 3 5-06
27. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, Ky. 4 5-03
Day 1: 4 5-03
28. Robert Lee Angels Camp, Calif. 3 4-11
Day 1: 3 4-11
29. Gerald Swindle Hayden, Ala. 5 4-10
Day 1: 5 4-10
30. Tim Horton Tuscumbia, Ala. 4 4-09
Day 1: 4 4-09
31. Zell Rowland Montgomery, Texas 3 4-04
Day 1: 3 4-04
32. Stacey D King Reeds Spring, Mo. 2 3-10
Day 1: 2 3-10
32. Roland Martin Naples, Fla. 2 3-10
Day 1: 2 3-10
34. O T Fears III Sallisaw, Okla. 2 3-01
Day 1: 2 3-01
35. Peter E Thliveros Jacksonville, Fla. 3 3-00
Day 1: 3 3-00
35. Davy Hite Prosperity, S.C. 2 3-00
Day 1: 2 3-00
37. Randy Howell Springville, Ala. 3 2-15
Day 1: 3 2-15
38. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, S.C. 2 2-06
Day 1: 2 2-06
38. Jack A Gadlage Benton, Ky. 2 2-06
Day 1: 2 2-06
40. Brett Hite Phoenix, Ariz. 2 2-04
Day 1: 2 2-04
41. Tom Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 2 2-02
Day 1: 2 2-02
42. Mark Davis Mount Ida, Ark. 2 1-13
Day 1: 2 1-13
43. Randy Blaukat Lamar, Mo. 2 1-11
Day 1: 2 1-11
44. Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 1 1-01
Day 1: 1 1-01
45. Jay Yelas Tyler, Texas 1 0-15
Day 1: 1 0-15
46. Ben Matsubu Hemphill, Texas 1 0-10
Day 1: 1 0-10
46. Bud Pruitt Spring, Texas 1 0-10
Day 1: 1 0-10
48. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, Fla. 3 0-00
Day 1: 3 0-00
48. David Fritts Lexington, N.C. 0 0-00
Day 1: 0 0-00
48. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Gainesville, Fla. 0 0-00
Day 1: 0 0-00

From BASS