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The Final Report
BASS Tour: Harris Chain, FL
Four days. Four leaders. No single pro could hold the lead for more than a
day, making for an exciting tournament. Jones, then Quinn, and finally
Iaconelli all attempted to hold the lead - without success. Jones took 7th;
Quinn fell to 8th, and Ike dropped to 4th. Nevertheless, Marty Stone of Linden,
N.C., managed to take the top spot on the last day for the first time in
five years. Finally - Another Win
Marty Stone has not placed higher than 33rd in the past two BASS Tour
seasons. As a result, by the end of last year, he found himself in 78th
position in Angler of the Year points, and was in the middle of a
"self-proclaimed slump." The situation has changed, however,
with his recent win at the Harris Chain. Stone took first place by less than
two pounds to take his first win, since he won the BASS Lake Wheeler event
five years ago, to win 100K and lead the BASS AOY race by 10 points.
"I've seen the
bottom of this sport and this just goes to show, you never give up," Stone
told a Florida crowd on Day 4.
"I'll be the first to admit, when I made that first Classic, I thought I was
a
pretty good fisherman," he said, "but I've been in a self-proclaimed slump
for
the past few years. I want to be a good fisherman, and to do that I'm going
to
have to be on the water. I have a lot of work to do."
Stone overcame his
slump this week and a nearly 10-pound deficit (on Day 1) to triumph by 1
pound, 3 ounces. How?
By using "ideal colors for cloudy weather;" a 7-inch junebug Sweebo worm
fished on a 7 1/2 foot flipping stick. A 'minnow-style' (as BASS calls it)
3/8 ounce Gambler Ninja Spin spinnerbait with a white and blue head came in
handy as well. The conditions on the Harris Chain were windy, cold, and
cloudy - tough conditions anywhere, but especially in Florida. Stone managed
to bag enough of the Sunshine State's big bass on these lures to grab the
win from multiple challengers.
The Stats:
| Day |
Rank |
Weight |
| 1 |
7 |
19-09 |
| 2 |
9 |
33-09 |
| 3 |
5 |
45-15 |
| 4 |
1 |
61-12 |
Moving Up
Scott Rook kept advancing upward
throughout the entire tournament - and nearly snatched the first place spot
from Stone. In a tournament of ounces, the pro from Little Rock, AR, warded
off Brent Chapman by 7 ounces to hold second place long enough to collect a
$38,000 paycheck.
Rook fished a 6-inch Zoom Trick Worm slowly along a large
canal, but not on the pads.
"I have no Plan B, so I'm going to stick with Plan A, which is what I've
been doing," he commented. "I haven't caught any on pads the whole tournament."
Rook has obviously
learned how to catch bass in Florida, but it didn't come easy. "It took me
about nine (BASS) tournaments to figure out how to catch fish down here," he
said.
The Stats:
|
Day |
Rank |
Weight |
|
1 |
12 |
18-03 |
|
2 |
6 |
34-13 |
|
3 |
3 |
47-12 |
|
4 |
2 |
60-09 |
Number 100... In Third Place
Brent
Chapman took home a third place check for $23,000 after the final day on
Sunday. This event was Chapman's 100th BASS event, and he wasn't satisfied
with his finish.
"I need to make sure I put every fish in the boat," Chapman said
after the tournament's conclusion. "I missed
two fish today that could have been the difference in the tournament. I'm
really trying hard not to think about that now, but it's hard not to."
The Stats:
|
Day |
Rank |
Weight |
|
1 |
5 |
21-15 |
|
2 |
8 |
34-0 |
|
3 |
4 |
46-01 |
|
4 |
3 |
60-02 |
As For the Rest...
Day 3 leader and 2003 Bassmaster Classic champion Michael
Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J. took fourth place in the season opener with a
four-day catch of 58-12. Ike took home $20,000 for his finish. Hemphill, TX,
pro Tommy Martin earned $16,000 for his four-day total of 56-07 and finished
in 5th place, and was followed by Bud Pruitt, who rounded out the Super Six
with his total weight of 48-01. Pruitt won $15,000, plus an extra one
thousand for his 6 pound, 3 ounce big bass of the day on Day 3.
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 |
Alton Jones |
Waco, TX |
5 |
27-0 |
| 2 |
Jason Quinn |
Clover, S.C. |
5 |
24-14 |
| 3 |
Tim Horton |
Muscle Shoals, AL |
5 |
23-13 |
| 4 |
Scott Suggs |
Alexander, AR |
5 |
22-04 |
| 5 |
Brent Chapman |
Shawnee, KS |
5 |
21-15 |
| 6 |
O.T. Fears |
Sallisaw, OK |
5 |
19-12 |
| 7 |
Marty Stone |
Linden, N.C. |
5 |
19-09 |
| 8 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
5 |
19-04 |
| 9 |
Bernie Schultz |
Gainesville, FL |
5 |
18-14 |
| 10 |
Takahiro Omori |
Emory, TX |
5 |
18-10 |
| 10 |
Terry Scroggins |
Palatka, FL |
5 |
18-10 |
| 12 |
Scott Rook |
Little Rock, AR |
5 |
18-03 |
Day 2:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Jason Quinn |
Clover, S.C. |
8 |
39-15 |
| 2 |
David Wharton |
Sam Rayburn, TX |
10 |
39-14 |
| 3 |
Scott Suggs |
Alexander, AR |
10 |
39-12 |
| 4 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
10 |
36-08 |
| 5 |
Alton Jones |
Waco, TX |
10 |
35-14 |
| 6 |
Scott Rook |
Little Rock, AR |
10 |
34-13 |
| 7 |
Bud Pruitt |
Spring, TX |
10 |
34-07 |
| 8 |
Brent Chapman |
Shawnee, KS |
10 |
34-0 |
| 9 |
Marty Stone |
Linden, N.C. |
10 |
33-09 |
| 10 |
Chris Baumgardner |
Gastonia, N.C. |
9 |
33-07 |
| 11 |
Tommy Martin |
Hemphill, TX |
10 |
32-11 |
| 12 |
Takahiro Omori |
Emory, TX |
9 |
31-09 |
Day 3:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
15 |
49-13 |
| 2 |
Bud Pruitt |
Spring, TX |
13 |
48-01 |
| 3 |
Scott Rook |
Little Rock, AR |
15 |
47-12 |
| 4 |
Brent Chapman |
Shawnee, KS |
15 |
46-01 |
| 5 |
Marty Stone |
Linden, N.C. |
15 |
45-15 |
| 6 |
Tommy Martin |
Hemphill, TX |
15 |
44-0 |
| 7 |
Alton Jones |
Waco, TX |
12 |
42-08 |
| 8 |
Jason Quinn |
Clover, S.C. |
9 |
41-13 |
| 9 |
Scott Suggs |
Alexander, AR |
11 |
41-08 |
| 10 |
Chris Baumgardner |
Gastonia, N.C. |
12 |
40-08 |
| 11 |
David Wharton |
Sam Rayburn, TX |
10 |
39-14 |
| 12 |
Takahiro Omori |
Emory, TX |
10 |
32-11 |
Day 4:
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
Winnings |
| 1 |
Marty Stone |
Linden, N.C. |
20 |
61-12 |
$100,000.00 |
| 2 |
Scott Rook |
Little Rock, AR |
20 |
60-09 |
$38,000.00 |
| 3 |
Brent Chapman |
Shawnee, KS |
20 |
60-02 |
$23,000.00 |
| 4 |
Michael Iaconelli |
Runnemede, N.J. |
20 |
58-12 |
$20,000.00 |
| 5 |
Tommy Martin |
Hemphill, TX |
19 |
56-07 |
$16,000.00 |
| 6 |
Bud Pruitt |
Spring, TX |
13 |
48-01 |
$15,000.00 |
Big Bass:
|
Day |
Name |
City, State |
Weight |
Award |
|
1 |
Alton Jones |
Waco, TX |
10-13 |
$1,000.00 |
|
2 |
Mark Rizk |
Arab, AL |
10-03 |
$1,000.00 |
|
3 |
Bud Pruitt |
Spring, TX |
6-03 |
$1,000.00 |
|
4 |
Tommy Martin |
Hemphill, TX |
6-00 |
$1,000.00 |
New AOY Standings:
| Rank |
Name |
State |
Points |
| 1 |
Marty Stone |
N.C. |
305 |
| 2 |
Scott Rook |
AR |
295 |
| 3 |
Michael Iaconelli |
N.J. |
290 |
| 3 |
Brent Chapman |
KS |
290 |
| 5 |
Tommy Martin |
TX |
280 |
| 6 |
Alton Jones |
TX |
277 |
| 7 |
Bud Pruitt |
TX |
276 |
| 8 |
Jason Quinn |
S.C. |
273 |
| 9 |
Scott Suggs |
AR |
264 |
| 10 |
Chris Baumgardner |
N.C. |
260 |
By Brandon Shook
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