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The Final Report
BASS Tour: Lake Guntersville, AL
The last time out in Guntersville, Kelly Jordon won the event with 83-11 -
beating all the previous weights ever caught at that lake during the twelve
events held there. Now, two-time Classic Champion George Cochran has done
the same thing. And while the $1 Million Challenge was not overcome,
Cochran's four day total of 99-10 was a huge catch in and of itself.
Another interesting fact about this event was that every single day a
Classic winner led. Day 1 was Kevin VanDam, Day 2 was current Classic champ
Michael Iaconelli, and the final two days (when it really counted) were
Cochran's. Classic Champ beats Classic Champs
George Cochran of Hot Springs, AR, has taken two previous Classic
Championships, and added another $103,000 to his bank account after
Guntersville. He never caught less than 20 pounds each day of the event, and
ended up winning with nearly 10 pounds more than the second place finisher.
"I don't think I'm going out on a limb in predicting that the winner will
have
a lot more than Kelly (Jordon) did," Randy Howell said, explaining the
possibility of Jordon's 2003 winning weight being dwarfed by this event. "Guntersville is probably the best lake
in
the country right now."
With that said, let's take a look at how Cochran won this event:
"It took me till 11:30 (to get a limit)," he explained, "but I culled all of
them by 2:30 and when you're throwing 5 pounders (back) by 11 a.m., I didn't
think anybody could beat me." No one could. Cochran started Day 4 with a one
pound lead, and managed to not only catch enough to win, but enough to sweep
away the rest of the field.
So, how did he do
it?
Cochran caught his bass on a Strike King Wild Shiner jerkbait, greenback and
bone in color.
"The trick to catching these fish, and catching big fish like I caught
today was, I would pull it down about 3 or 4 foot, twitch it twice and let
it sit for five or six seconds and every fish hit it when it was sitting
still," he said. "I could just watch the line jump.
"Today I was more patient because I knew where the fish were and I stayed in
the right area longer."
Cochran said on Day
3 that he was "catching two and a half limits a day."
To sum up, Cochran
added: "Right now, I want to just stop and enjoy this victory, but it
definitely gives me a lot of confidence."
The Stats:
| Day |
Rank |
Weight |
| 1 |
10 |
20-12 |
| 2 |
6 |
46-01 |
| 3 |
1 |
69-11 |
| 4 |
1 |
99-10 |
A King's Finish
Stacey King of Reeds Spring, MO, took second place at Guntersville with a
four-day total of 90-01, which earned him $39,000. He earned an extra $1,000
when he became the Heavyweight of the day on Day 3, for bringing in the
day's heaviest limit, that weighed in at 28-2.
King did not appear to be disappointed about his runner-up spot.
"I knew this lake could produce so much," King said. "George had been on a
good pattern so I didn't have any expectations, you know. Whatever happens,
happens."
King threw a
single lure to catch all four of his limits: a silver and black Normark
Husky Jerk suspending jerkbait. He used the bait all four days, and it
produced handsomely for him.
The Stats:
|
Day |
Rank |
Weight |
|
1 |
22 |
18-10 |
|
2 |
3 |
46-12 |
|
3 |
2 |
68-11 |
|
4 |
2 |
90-01 |
Another Classic Champ
Day 1 leader and former Classic champion Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, MI,
finished in third place with 87-03, with a comfortable lead over 4th place.
Even though it was cold and windy, VanDam did not let that off fish, but
used it as a learning experience:
"I didn't do all
that well in practice, but I hooked one that kind of got me started.
It
kind of sets you off. I got a key bite first thing today fishing a certain
bait a certain way and somehow when I got that bite, I knew that that was
what
I needed to do. Then it was real easy. I've never had a day (Day 1) that it went
easier.
"That's kind of how it's always been with me," he added. "You get one little
clue and if you're smart enough to pick up on it (you do well). I'm trying
to
kind of put the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out the migration."
The Stats:
|
Day |
Rank |
Weight |
|
1 |
1 |
26-03 |
|
2 |
5 |
46-05 |
|
3 |
4 |
64-01 |
|
4 |
3 |
87-03 |
As For the Rest...
Chad Brauer of Osage Beach, MO, took fourth place and the
Angler of the Year lead with 83-13 over four days. His winnings equaled
$21,000. Day 2 leader and reigning Classic champion Michael Iaconelli took
fifth place with 66-01, which led to a $15,000 check. Zell Rowland of
Montgomery, TX, finished out the Super Six with 60-10 and $14,000.
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 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
5 |
26-03 |
| 2 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
5 |
24-03 |
| 3 |
Larry Nixon |
Bee Branch, AR |
5 |
23-01 |
| 4 |
David Wharton |
Sam Rayburn, TX |
5 |
22-03 |
| 5 |
Charlie Hartley |
Grove City, Ohio |
5 |
21-15 |
| 6 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
5 |
21-09 |
| 7 |
David Fritts |
Lexington, N.C. |
5 |
21-06 |
| 8 |
Brett Hite |
Phoenix, AZ |
5 |
21-03 |
| 9 |
Scott Rook |
Little Rock, AR |
5 |
21-01 |
| 10 |
George Cochran |
Hot Springs, AR |
5 |
20-12 |
| 11 |
Chad Brauer |
Osage Beach, MO |
5 |
20-09 |
| 11 |
Gerald Gostenik |
Dearborn, MI |
5 |
20-09 |
Day 2:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
10 |
48-09 |
| 2 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
10 |
47-15 |
| 3 |
Chad Brauer |
Osage Beach, MO |
10 |
46-12 |
| 3 |
Stacey D. King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
10 |
46-12 |
| 5 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
10 |
46-05 |
| 6 |
George Cochran |
Hot Springs, AR |
10 |
46-01 |
| 7 |
Mike Auten |
Benton, KY |
10 |
41-14 |
| 8 |
David Wharton |
Sam Rayburn, TX |
10 |
39-14 |
| 9 |
Paul L. Elias |
Pachuta, MS |
10 |
38-14 |
| 10 |
Jim Bitter |
Fruitland Park, FL |
10 |
38-09 |
| 11 |
Charlie Hartley |
Grove City, OH |
10 |
37-15 |
| 12 |
David Walker |
Sevierville, TN |
10 |
37-12 |
Day 3:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
George Cochran |
Hot Springs, AR |
15 |
69-11 |
| 2 |
Stacey D. King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
15 |
68-11 |
| 3 |
Chad Brauer |
Osage Beach, MO |
15 |
66-01 |
| 4 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
15 |
64-01 |
| 5 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
12 |
54-11 |
| 6 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
11 |
51-06 |
Day 4:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
Winnings |
| 1 |
George Cochran |
Hot Springs, AR |
20 |
99-10 |
$103,000.00 |
| 2 |
Stacey D. King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
20 |
90-01 |
$39,000.00 |
| 3 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
20 |
87-03 |
$25,000.00 |
| 4 |
Chad Brauer |
Osage Beach, MO |
20 |
83-13 |
$21,000.00 |
| 5 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
15 |
66-01 |
$15,000.00 |
| 6 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomery, TX |
13 |
60-10 |
$14,000.00 |
Big Bass:
|
Day |
Name |
City, State |
Weight |
Award |
|
1 |
Danny White |
Milledgeville, GA |
9-03 |
$1,000.00 |
|
2 |
Dennis Kolender |
Henderson, NV |
9-01 |
$1,000.00 |
|
3 |
George Cochran |
Hot Springs, AR |
7-00 |
$1,000.00 |
|
4 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
8-05 |
$1,000.00 |
New AOY Standings:
| Rank |
Name |
State |
Points |
| 1 |
Chad Brauer |
MO |
671 |
| 2 |
Michael Iaconelli |
N.J. |
656 |
| 2 |
Scott Suggs |
AR |
656 |
| 4 |
Gerald Swindle |
AL |
640 |
| 5 |
Randy Blaukat |
MO |
639 |
| 6 |
Brian Snowden |
MO |
637 |
| 7 |
Kevin Short |
AR |
626 |
| 8 |
Aaron Martens |
CA |
620 |
| 9 |
Davy Hite |
SC |
619 |
| 9 |
Tim Horton |
AL |
619 |
By Brandon Shook
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