Winner Davey Hite, Prosperity, SC 19-14 last day for 55-10 total:
"I had an incredible week. I caught good stringers every day. It's a dream come true. I caught every fish I weighed today and almost every keeper in the tournament on a June bug or black grape Gambler Bacon Rind, a soft plastic bait. I was using a 3/8-ounce Florida screw-on sinker and a 5/0 Owner hook. I was swimming this bait in and out of the vegetation. It has a crawfish silhouette and goes in and out of vegetation better than a jig, I think. I had to move it fast to keep it up. I was fishing from 1 to 4 feet of water."
"About noon realized that I was dehydrating. Took a big drink. Got sick for a little bit. It was a great day.
"I lost my biggest one. I don't care now....but I was caring a lot at the time. But I had a good area and a lot of confidence. I Felt my chances really good after yesterday. I was real confident. This area was only place I found quality fish in pre-fish. Even though I knew some fish had died there (he saw dead fish), I hoped it still would have 15 quality fish."
One of reasons Hite was excited about his area is that it was closer than the places others were fishing. He ran an hour and 10 minutes to his area. "I had a lot going for me besides a good spot; There were no other tournament boats and my only concern was spectator boats. But they were extremely considerate and knew what was going on."
"Always did better with moving water. I learned to catch bass when water was moving in either direction. I was flipping around Duck weed and hyacinths."
"This was my biggest goal. I really felt good inside when I got the 19 (pounds)."
Second Place Denny Brauer:
"I had a poor pre-fish period so I didn't have a set area. I fished until noon on practice day without a bite. I went to a grass line and went down it (with jig). I fished about 15 minutes and caught a 4 pounder. Another 15 minutes and another 4 pounder and I knew how I was going to fish tournament."
"I really felt that 36 to 40 pounds would win. If someone had told me that I would catch 45 pounds and lose, I probably would have lost a lot of money. Davey just did a great job. This is a great, great fishery."
Third Place Larry Nixon:
"In practice, I saw a grass line near Des Allemands. I fished down it and got two bites, then went around and looked at other practice areas. I went to a weed line and caught a decent limit. I Flipped plastics up and down that weed line and caught 5 that weighed 10 something the first day. I never pitched a jig. I don't know why, I just didn't take the time. The second day I rigged jig with a Berkley Pulse worm for a trailer. I caught a 4 pounder and didn't put it down again." Today, Nixon caught a 5 poounder and 4-11 on Strike King jig and Berkley Pulse worm trailer in "a unique area that had a lot of fish. But no natural current and when the wind died, it got tough. I finally managed to catch two 2 pounders for my limit. I wasn't on any fish, I just fished my way into it."
Fourth Place Gary Klein:
Klein was "running a lot of points" on east side of the river. "I was fishing different that most. I was fishing shallow water and making long casts using a White Rat and a buzzbait. I was fishing real fast and not trying to penetrate the cover. Half the fish would hit (the Rat) out in open water. I was covering a lot of water. Covering 10 to 15 miles of water every day, in under 3 hours of fishing."
"I was burning 82 gallons of gas. But it was such a long way, I felt I wouldn't have any competitors, and I was right. But what hurt me was I just didn't have much time to fish."
Fifth Place Ron Shuffield:
Shuffield flipped a Stanley jig with a Spike-It Craw Chunk. "The wind played a major role for me until it quit blowing. The fish didn't bite as well for me."
"I was trying to key on outside edges of hydrilla mats, where current was sweeping in. I had to have some moving water because I didn't do any good in dead-water canals."