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The Final Report
Bassmaster Elite 50: Alabama River, AL
When Day 4 began, Davis was considered to be out of range for the win. Over
three pounds stood between his fifth place position and Tom Biffle, who was
leading. A BASS press release said that Davis was
"capping his victory at the last
Elite 50 with a 10-3 effort and fifth place." However, he wasn't quite
through.
Learning to Win
 Mark Davis captured his third win of the
season a few days ago, and, needless to say, that is quite an
accomplishment. “Who knows when you’re going to win one of these crazy
tournaments?" Davis said. "I don’t feel like I’m doing anything different
now than I ever have.” For the past 19 years, Davis has been
without a win. However, when 2004 came along Davis finally learned how.
“Sometimes I think you have to learn
how to win,” Davis told reporters backstage. “Maybe I finally learned how.”
Apparently, Davis did not use a specific lure or set of lures to seize
victory - he was just versatile. Minutes before Saturday's launch, Davis was
doing a chartreuse dye job on a few green pumpkin Brush Hogs. Earlier in the
tournament, he also used Strike King buzzbaits, black-and-blue jigs with a
3X frog chunk trailer, and crankbaits that were pearl and chartreuse. "I'm
like a rolling tackle store," he said. How many lures does he bring with
him? "Like in the thousands," was his reply.
During
the last day, Davis relied on a Strike King Pro Model Jig and Zoom Brush
Hogs, which he used to boat four keepers early. Later on, he utilized Strike
King Series 4S crankbaits in pearl and chartreuse that he fished around
shallow wood cover.
The Stats:
| Day |
Rank |
Weight |
| 1 |
3 |
14-15 |
| 2 |
8 |
21-11 |
| 3 |
5 |
10-03 |
| 4 |
1 |
21-15 |
Positive Attitude
Edwin Evers of Mannsville, OK, quickly dismissed his second place finish and
focused on the next E50 event. “I’m basically going to try and keep a
positive attitude,” Evers said. “I think it’s going to be a lightweight,
finesse kind of deal. I don’t think it’s going to be big weights, but I
could be surprised.”
Evers, like Davis, leapt five places on Day 4 with a
stringer weighing 8-06, and beat out former leader Tom Biffle by less than
one pound.
The Stats:
|
Day |
Rank |
Weight |
|
1 |
5 |
13-02 |
|
2 |
10 |
20-09 |
|
3 |
6 |
10-02 |
|
4 |
2 |
18-08 |
Mission Accomplished
Tom Biffle of Wagoner, OK, held the first place position during Day 2 and 3,
but slipped to third on the final day. However, as he remarked on Day 3,
Biffle accomplished what he set out to do.
“I’ve done what I set out to do,” Biffle said. “I’ve made
the cut, so I’m going to get the good points. I got five bonus points
yesterday for leading it, so I should be in good shape to make the Classic.”
During the first few days (before the final six cut), Biffle fished a total
of 62 holes on the Alabama River. He had keyed the locations into his GPS
unit, and made a daily milk run to those locations.
The Stats:
|
Day |
Rank |
Weight |
|
1 |
2 |
17-01 |
|
2 |
1 |
28-03 |
|
3 |
1 |
13-09 |
|
4 |
3 |
17-10 |
As For the Rest...
Denny Brauer (Camdenton, MO) and Todd Auten (Lake Wylie, SC)
tied for 4th place on the Alabama River, both bringing in 17-09, and earning
$1,250. Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, TX, weighed 17-02 and earned $1,500. He
caught 10 bass, and gained an extra $1,000 by bringing in Day 3's big bass.
Standings:
For more complete standings, please
refer to The Full Story or each individual day's story on the
National Tournament News
page. Day 1:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Davy Hite |
Prosperity, SC |
5 |
18-03 |
| 2 |
Tom Biffle |
Wagoner, OK |
5 |
17-01 |
| 3 |
Mark Davis |
Mount Ida, AR |
5 |
14-15 |
| 4 |
Larry Nixon |
Bee Branch, AR |
5 |
13-04 |
| 5 |
Edwin Evers |
Mannsville, OK |
5 |
13-02 |
| 6 |
David Fritts |
Lexington, NC |
5 |
12-15 |
| 7 |
Todd Auten |
Lake Wylie, SC |
5 |
12-07 |
| 8 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
5 |
12-04 |
| 9 |
Peter Thliveros |
Jacksonville, FL |
4 |
11-15 |
| 10 |
Kelly Jordon |
Mineola, TX |
5 |
11-03 |
| 11 |
Ron Shuffield |
Bismarck, AR |
5 |
10-13 |
| 12 |
Jim Bitter |
Fruitland Park, FL |
5 |
10-06 |
| 13 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
4 |
10-02 |
| 14 |
Rick Clunn |
Ava, MO |
5 |
9-14 |
| 15 |
Stacey King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
5 |
9-11 |
| 16 |
Todd Faircloth |
Jasper, TX |
4 |
9-10 |
| 16 |
Robert Lee |
Angels Camp, CA |
5 |
9-10 |
| 18 |
Chad Brauer |
Osage Beach, MO |
3 |
8-10 |
| 19 |
Randy Blaukat |
Lamar, MO |
4 |
8-05 |
| 20 |
Jack Gadlage |
Benton, KY |
4 |
8-01 |
| 21 |
Randy Howell |
Springville, AL |
5 |
7-10 |
| 22 |
Dustin Wilks |
Rocky Mount, NC |
5 |
7-08 |
| 23 |
Skeet Reese |
Auburn, CA |
5 |
7-07 |
| 23 |
David Wharton |
Sam Rayburn, TX |
4 |
7-07 |
| 25 |
Denny Brauer |
Camdenton, MO |
4 |
7-06 |
Day 2:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Tom Biffle |
Wagoner, OK |
9 |
28-03 |
| 2 |
Davy Hite |
Prosperity, SC |
8 |
27-11 |
| 3 |
Todd Auten |
Lake Wylie, SC |
10 |
27-05 |
| 4 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
9 |
25-06 |
| 5 |
Peter Thliveros |
Jacksonville, FL |
9 |
25-00 |
| 6 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
10 |
22-07 |
| 7 |
Gerald Swindle |
Hayden, AL |
9 |
22-00 |
| 8 |
Mark Davis |
Mount Ida, AR |
10 |
21-11 |
| 9 |
Jim Bitter |
Fruitland Park, FL |
10 |
21-01 |
| 10 |
Edwin Evers |
Mannsville, OK |
9 |
20-09 |
| 11 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
9 |
20-03 |
| 12 |
Denny Brauer |
Camdenton, MO |
9 |
19-13 |
| 12 |
Chad Brauer |
Osage Beach, MO |
8 |
19-13 |
| 14 |
Todd Faircloth |
Jasper, TX |
9 |
19-12 |
| 15 |
Rick Clunn |
Ava, MO |
10 |
18-14 |
| 16 |
David Fritts |
Lexington, NC |
7 |
17-14 |
| 17 |
Larry Nixon |
Bee Branch, AR |
8 |
17-13 |
| 18 |
Brett Hite |
Phoneix, AZ |
9 |
17-11 |
| 19 |
Dustin Wilks |
Rocky Mount, NC |
10 |
17-04 |
| 20 |
Robert Lee |
Angels Camp, CA |
9 |
16-12 |
| 21 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
9 |
16-06 |
| 22 |
Stacey King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
10 |
16-02 |
| 23 |
Randy Howell |
Springville, AL |
10 |
15-13 |
| 24 |
Ron Shuffield |
Bismarck, AR |
7 |
15-00 |
| 25 |
Kelly Jordon |
Mineola, TX |
8 |
14-01 |
Day 3:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Tom Biffle |
Wagoner, OK |
5 |
13-09 |
| 2 |
Todd Auten |
Lake Wylie, SC |
5 |
12-02 |
| 3 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
5 |
11-12 |
| 4 |
Denny Brauer |
Camdenton, MO |
5 |
10-13 |
| 5 |
Mark Davis |
Mount Ida, AR |
5 |
10-03 |
| 6 |
Edwin Evers |
Mannsville, OK |
5 |
10-02 |
| 7 |
Davy Hite |
Prosperity, SC |
4 |
9-12 |
| 8 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
5 |
8-02 |
| 9 |
Jim Bitter |
Fruitland Park, FL |
5 |
7-15 |
| 10 |
Peter Thliveros |
Jacksonville, FL |
5 |
7-12 |
| 11 |
Gerald Swindle |
Hadyen, AL |
5 |
5-11 |
| 12 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
2 |
2-08 |
Day 4:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
Points |
Winnings |
| 1 |
Mark Davis |
Mount Ida, AR |
10 |
21-15 |
305 |
$6,000.00 |
| 2 |
Edwin Evers |
Mannsville, OK |
10 |
18-08 |
295 |
$5,000.00 |
| 3 |
Tom Biffle |
Wagoner, OK |
8 |
17-10 |
300 |
$5,000.00 |
| 4 |
Denny Brauer |
Camdenton, MO |
10 |
17-09 |
285 |
$1,250.00 |
| 4 |
Todd Auten |
Lake Wylie, SC |
9 |
17-09 |
285 |
$1,250.00 |
| 6 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
10 |
17-02 |
276 |
$1,500.00 |
Big Bass:
|
Day |
Name |
City, State |
Weight |
Award |
|
1 |
Kelly Jordon |
Mineola, TX |
6-09 |
$1,000.00 |
|
2 |
Tom Biffle |
Wagoner, OK |
5-05 |
$1,000.00 |
|
3 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
4-09 |
$1,000.00 |
|
4 |
Mark Davis |
Mount Ida, AR |
2-12 |
$1,000.00 |
By Brandon Shook
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