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@Part 2F@Special Report of BASS CITGO Bassmaster Tour 1st Tournament
of 2004 Series @
@At this year's first BASS Tour event
on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida, Takahiro
Omori made the cut on Friday to move into the final 12. Weather
turned sour on Saturday and Sunday, however, creating difficult
conditions for all the remaining anglers including Omori, rain
and drizzle challenging even the most hardy souls.
(Unfortunately, ALL of Florida's talented pro anglers were turned
away after Friday's effort!)
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@After finishing in 12th place on
Saturday, Omori had this to say: "I had a good tournament.
The weather was bad today and fishing was slow, but I
had a good tournament! I fished Senko on bedding fish,
but I just couldn't get them to bite. IÕll try again next
week on Smith Lake."
@That was the sentiment of many of the fishermen! Some,
however, did manage to find good fish AND make them bite,
and two bass over ten pounds attest to the return of the
Harris chain!
@Some may recall the tournament here in 1992 when Mike
Folkstead of California caught the lowest ever winning
weight for a BASS event, "14Lb 10oz" for 3 days
fishing! |
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@It was thought then that the Harris
Chain had been decimated with chemical sprays for hydrilla
and general mismanagement of the resource. Since that
time, much work has been done to restore the once famed
fishery, and this tournament shows the results!
@Leader on Omori's final day was the ever-present Mike
Iaconelli who came from fourth place with a 13 pound 5
ounce limit totaling 49 pounds 13 ounces for the first
3 days. |
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| @After he weighed his catch, the perennial
Tommy Martin sat on the bubble through the remaining few anglers
awaiting news that he had been bumped from the final day Super
Six. To his delight, however, these talented pros could not
put enough weight on the scales to dislodge him! |
@Good limits were brought in throughout
the tournament, though the first two days marked the most
dramatic big bass catches. Alton Jones of Waco, Texas
captured a 10-13 on day 1 while Mark Rizk of Arab, Ala.
brought a 10-03 to the scales on day 2! Each daily big
bass wins for that angler an additional $1,000 !!
@Winner Marty Stone finished atop the heap on Sunday to
win $100,000ñ and a shot at Angler of the Year and the
2004 Bassmaster Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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