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Davis Claims Second
Straight E50 Win
 PRATTVILLE,
Ala. --- Smarty Jones may have fallen short of winning horse racing’s triple
crown, but Mark Davis made a major move Saturday that puts him in place to
win a version of a triple crown in bass fishing.
Davis has picked up back-to-back wins in the Citgo Bassmaster Elite 50
series by coming from behind on the final day and taking advantage of a
stumbling Tommy Biffle to win the tournament on the Alabama River. Two weeks
ago, Davis won the E50 series event on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in
Columbus, Miss.
The win and the points that come with it have put Davis in a neck-and-neck
race with series leader Kevin VanDam. VanDam, who threatened to run away
with the points’ race, stumbled Friday, finishing 12th and allowing Davis to
make up much-needed points. Unofficially, VanDam leads the series with 817
points, Davis is second with 812 points and Stacey King is third with 807
points.
“When Kevin had that bad day, it just opened the door wide open for me,’’
Davis said.
Davis ran straight through it by posting a final round stringer of 11
pounds, 12 ounces for a two-day 21 pounds, 15 ounces. Meanwhile, Biffle, who
had the lead the two previous days, could only manage 4 pounds, 1 ounce and
fell to third with 17-10.
Edwin Evers, who qualified in sixth place, jumped to second with an 8 pound,
6 ounce stringer and 18 pounds, 8 ounce total. Todd Auten (5 pounds, 7
ounces) and Denny Brauer (6 pounds, 12 ounces) tied for fourth place with 17
pounds, 9 ounces. And Dean Rojas (5 pounds, 6 ounces) rounded out the final
six with 17 pounds, 2 ounces.
Davis jumped to the forefront by utilizing the main channel of the Alabama
River on the final day. “I never made a cast in the river during practice or
in the first two days of the tournament,’’ Davis said. “I thought that was
going the be my weakest area and in that course, 90 percent of it is the
main river.’’
Ironically, the main river channel was the exact thing that had carried
Biffle into the finals. But it let him down on the final day. He had been
catching his fish with a Rattleback jig in “current breaks” along the bank,
but the increased weekend and spectator traffic sent waves washing up the
bank and washing mud right into those eddies, where it stayed.
“The rest of the river bank would clear up, but the eddies just held it,’’
Biffle said.
Davis on the other hand, because of his fifth place position, had to start
in the in one of the river holes (Hole 3). And as fortune would have it,
current was flowing and Davis was able to boat four quality keepers in the
shoreline grass. He caught those on a Strike King Pro Model jig and Zoom
Brush Hawg. But in Hole 4, Davis thought his come-back had been derailed
when he lost a 5-pound bass.
“I thought it was over right then,’’ he said.
Davis, though, was able to pick up keepers in every hole after that, pushing
his weight up. He caught his fish early on the jig and the Brush Hawg and
picked up extra weight later in the day with a Strike King Series 4S
crankbait fished around shallow wood.
Biffle on the other hand was getting the bites. But he was losing them.
“If I had gotten everything I had on I would have walked away with it,’’
Biffle said.
In all, Biffle lost four keepers, ranging from 2- to 4-pounds each.
“It just wasn’t meant to be,’’ Biffle said.
What is obviously meant to be, though, is a horse race in the bass fishing
world. The E50 series has one four-day event left on the Ohio and Cumberland
Rivers in Paducah, Ky.
VanDam’s leading it by a nose and Davis is coming on strong from the
outside.
Day 4 Pro Standings
Rank Name
Hometown
Bass Weight Pts. Winnings
1. Mark Davis
Mount Ida, Ark. 10
21-15 305 $6,000.00
2. Edwin Evers
Mannsville, Okla. 10 18-08
295 $5,000.00
3. Tom Biffle
Wagoner, Okla. 8
17-10 300 $5,000.00
4. Denny Brauer
Camdenton, Mo. 10
17-09 285 $1,250.00
4. Todd Auten
Lake Wylie, S.C. 9
17-09 285 $1,250.00
6. Dean Rojas
Grand Saline, Texas 10 17-02 276
$1,500.00
By Steve Bowman, FishFactory.com
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