MANY, La. - Feb. 25, 2003 - David Wharton, who has fished Toledo Bend Reservoir since it was impounded, took home the $100,000 top prize at the recent Bassmaster Tour bass fishing event held there with a dominating margin of 12 pounds, 7 ounces.
The victory marked the fourth career win for the Texan, and his first since 1993.
Fruitland Park, Fla.'s Jim Bitter, who has led the BASS Angler of the Year points race since the second event, is still in charge, though his lead slipped slightly from 38 points to 31 points. His nearest competitor also changed as reigning Bassmaster Classic champion Jay Yelas moved into the runner-up position.
In the Horizon Award race, which rewards the angler who improves his final point standing the most over last season, Bitter also leads. Bitter has improved a total of 125 positions over last year's finish.
Arizona's Mark Kile has taken over the lead in the Rookie of the Year award race after Florida's Terry Scroggins, who led since the beginning of the season, fell to fourth after the Toledo Bend event.
TELEVISION
The event from Toledo Bend will be telecast on ESPN2 in two parts, with part one airing on Saturday, March 1, at 10:30 a.m. (ET) and part two on Saturday March 8, at 10:30 a.m.
2003 BASS ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
(After four events)
1 Jim Bitter FL 623 2 Jay Yelas TX 592 3 Zell Rowland TX 587 4 Mike Wurm AR 582 5 Tom Mann, Jr. GA 576 6 Bud Pruitt TX 558 7 Elton Luce Jr. TX 553 8 Kevin VanDam MI 550 9 Skeet Reese CA 539 10 Shaw E. Grigsby Jr. FL 537
2003 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
(After four events)
1 Mark Kile AZ 526 2 Jeff Reynolds OK 496 3 Chad Morgenthaler IL 480 4 Terry Scroggins FL 475 5 J.T. Kenney MD 463 6 Lance Vick TX 453 7 Kyle Mabrey AL 448 8 Jason Barber TX 446 9 Casey Iwai AZ 438 10 Jason Quinn SC 434
2003 HORIZON AWARD STANDINGS
(After three events)
1 Jim Bitter FL 125 2 Mark Tyler CA 119 3 Cody Bird TX 110 4 Curt Lytle VA 109 5 Mike Hicks VA 93 6 Jack Wade TN 93 7 Takahiro Omori TX 85 8 Shaw E. Grigsby Jr. FL 80 9 Roger Boler LA 80 10 Stacey D. King MO 71
BASS SPONSOR EXPO
An added attraction for fans attending Bassmaster Tour events in 2003 is the BASS Sponsor Expo.
Thousands of fans have attended the sponsor expo, which is completely free and takes place from noon until 5 p.m. on Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at each Tour stop. The expo provides fans a chance to interact with top pro anglers, learn about product offerings, participate in interactive exhibits and also provides activities for children so the whole family can enjoy a trip to the weigh-in festivities.
COMPLETE BASS ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
001 Jim Bitter Fla. 623 002 Jay Yelas Texas 592 003 Zell Rowland Texas 587 004 Mike Wurm Ark. 582 005 Tom Mann Jr. Ga. 576 006 Bud Pruitt Texas 558 007 Elton Luce Jr. Texas 553 008 Kevin VanDam Mich. 550 009 Skeet Reese Calif. 539 010 Shaw E Grigsby Jr Fla. 537 011 Brent Chapman Kan. 536 012 Curt Lytle Va. 530 013 Mark Tyler Calif. 527 014 Mark Kile Ariz. 526 014 Harold Allen Texas 526 016 John Murray Ariz. 511 017 Kelly Jordon Texas 503 018 Gary Klein Texas 499 019 Tim Horton Ala. 497 020 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 496 021 Roger Boler La. 486 022 Alton Jones Texas 484 022 Mark Davis Ark. 484 024 Dustin Wilks N.C. 481 025 Chad Morgenthaler Ill. 480 026 Ben Matsubu Texas 476 026 Stacey D. King Mo. 476 028 Terry Scroggins Fla. 475 029 Jeff Kriet Okla. 474 030 David Wharton Texas 469 031 J. T. Kenney Md. 463 032 Jack L. Wade Tenn. 462 033 Todd Faircloth Texas 457 034 Lance Vick Texas 453 035 David Fritts N.C. 452 036 Cody Bird Texas 451 037 Kyle Mabrey Ala. 448 038 Ishama Monroe Calif. 447 039 Jason Barber Texas 446 040 Jimmy D. Mize Ark. 441 040 Mike Hicks Va. 441 040 Dalton Bobo Ala. 441 043 Casey Iwai Ariz. 438 044 Kevin Wirth Ky. 435 045 Jason Quinn S.C. 434 046 Randall R Romig Pa. 432 047 Roland Martin Fla. 429 048 Mike Reynolds Calif. 427 049 Mark Menendez Ky. 424 049 Woo Daves Va. 424 051 George Cochran Ark. 421 052 Gerald Swindle Ala. 418 053 Bernie Schultz Fla. 417 053 Takahiro Omori Texas 417 055 Rick Taylor Mich. 412 056 Koby Kreiger Ind. 410 057 Jay Kendrick Tenn. 409 058 Keith Green Ark. 407 059 Paul L Elias Miss. 405 060 Kenyon Hill Okla. 403 061 Matt Reed Texas 402 062 Kotaro Kiriyama N.J. 399 062 Mike Auten Ky. 399 064 Mark Rogers Fla. 398 065 Stephen Browning Ark. 395 066 Brian Snowden Mo. 393 067 Danny Correia Mass. 390 067 Guy H. Eaker N.C. 390 069 Edwin Evers Okla. 388 069 Joe Thomas Ohio 388 071 Doug Gilley Fla. 381 072 Todd Auten S.C. 376 073 Shonn Blassingame Texas 374 073 Peter E. Thliveros Fla. 374 075 Lee Bailey Jr. Conn. 369 076 O. T. Fears III Okla. 366 077 Danny Kirk Ga. 361 078 Jody Cordell Ga. 360 078 Mark Rizk Ala. 360 080 Gerry Williams Fla. 357 080 Randy Howell Ala. 357 082 Allen Armour Ga. 356 083 Denny Brauer Mo. 354 084 Tim Loper Miss. 353 085 Chris Price Md. 350 086 Luke Clausen Wash. 342 087 David Mansue N.J. 340 088 Byron Velvick Nev. 339 088 Robert Hamilton Jr. Miss. 339 090 Rick Clunn Mo. 337 090 Charlie Youngers Fla. 337 092 Darren Wolf Texas 334 093 Ron Shuffield Ark. 332 094 Brett Hite Ariz. 328 095 Chad Brauer Mo. 327 096 Morizo Shimizu Japan 326 096 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 326 098 Tom Biffle Okla. 321 098 Ken Cook Okla. 321 100 Tommy Stiles Tenn. 319