BAINBRIDGE, Fla. - Feb. 10, 2003 - Texan Gary Klein may have taken the spotlight at Lake Seminole during the third event of the 2003 Bassmaster Tour season, but Florida's Jim Bitter is quietly building a solid points lead in the BASS Angler of the Year race.
Bitter enters the fourth event of the season on Louisiana's Toledo Bend Reservoir with 497 points, 38 ahead of second-place angler Terry Scroggins who is also of Florida. Additionally, Bitter has assumed the lead in the Horizon award standings as well.
By virtue of his second-place standing in the overall points race, Scroggins has built a strong lead in the race for Rookie of the Year with a 51-point lead over second-place angler Jeff Reynolds.
TELEVISION
The event from Lake Seminole will be telecast on ESPN2 Saturday, Feb. 15, at 10:30 a.m. (ET).
2003 BASS ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
(after three events)
1 Jim Bitter Fla. 497 2 Terry Scroggins Fla. 459 3 Skeet Reese Calif. 442 4 Gary Klein Texas 439 5 Kelly Jordon Texas 435 6 Tom Mann, Jr. Ga. 431 7 Jay Yelas Texas 419 8 Zell Rowland Texas 418 9 Dustin Wilks N.C. 417 9 Mike Hicks Va. 417
2003 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
(After three events)
1. Terry Scroggins FL 459 2. Jeff Reynolds OK 408 3. Mark Kile AZ 385 4. Casey Iwai AZ 373 5. Mark Rogers FL 359 6. Luke Clausen WA 336 7. Chad Morgenthaler IL 332 7. Rick Taylor MI 332 9. Koby Kreiger IN 328 10. Jason Barber TX 325 10. J.T. Kenney MD 325
2003 HORIZON AWARD STANDINGS
(After three events)
1. Bitter, Jim Fla. 125 2. Hicks, Mike Va. 124 3. Loper, Tim Miss. 118 4. Tyler, Mark Calif. 117 5. Bird, Cody Texas 111 6. Lytle, Curt Va. 110 7. Wade, Jack Tenn. 100 8. Bailey, Lee Jr. Conn. 88 9. Monroe, Ishama Ariz. 71 10. Youngers, Charlie Fla. 70
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. 497 002 Terry Scroggins Fla. 459 003 Skeet Reese Calif. 442 004 Gary Klein Texas 439 005 Kelly Jordon Texas 435 006 Tom Mann, Jr. Ga. 431 007 Jay Yelas Texas 419 008 Zell Rowland Texas 418 009 Dustin Wilks N.C. 417 009 Mike Hicks Va. 417 011 Curt Lytle Va. 414 012 Mike Wurm Ark. 411 012 Kevin VanDam Mich. 411 014 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 408 015 Mark Tyler Calif. 405 016 Bud Pruitt Texas 404 017 John Murray Ariz. 401 018 Paul L Elias Miss. 398 018 Ishama Monroe Calif. 398 018 Elton Luce Jr. Texas 398 021 Mark Menendez Ky. 385 021 Mark Kile Ariz. 385 021 Harold Allen Texas 385 024 Brent Chapman Kan. 384 025 Jack L. Wade Tenn. 383 026 Doug Gilley Fla. 381 027 Mark Davis Ark. 374 028 Casey Iwai Ariz. 373 029 Tim Horton Ala. 370 030 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Fla. 367 031 Mark Rogers Fla. 359 031 Joe Thomas Ohio 359 033 Peter E. Thliveros Fla. 352 034 Todd Faircloth Texas 350 035 Cody Bird Texas 346 036 Kotaro Kiriyama N.J. 345 036 Tim Loper Miss. 345 038 Stacey D. King Mo. 341 038 Alton Jones Texas 341 040 Todd Auten S.C. 340 041 Danny Correia Mass. 339 042 Luke Clausen Wash. 336 043 Chad Morgenthaler Ill. 332 043 Rick Taylor Mich. 332 043 Kevin Wirth Ky. 332 046 Koby Kreiger Ind. 328 047 Roland Martin Fla. 327 048 Charlie Youngers Fla. 325 048 Jason Barber Texas 325 048 O. T. Fears III Okla. 325 048 J. T. Kenney Md. 325 052 Roger Boler La. 323 053 Gerald Swindle Ala. 322 054 Lance Vick Texas 321 055 David Fritts N.C. 319 056 Ben Matsubu Texas 316 056 Lee Bailey, Jr. Conn. 316 058 Mike Reynolds Calif. 314 059 Stephen Browning Ark. 311 059 Dalton Bobo Ala. 311 061 Mike Gough Fla. 308 062 George Cochran Ark. 303 063 Jeff Kriet Okla. 302 064 Woo Daves Va. 301 064 Randall R Romig Pa. 301 066 Matt Reed Texas 300 066 Kyle Mabrey Ala. 300 068 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 299 069 Brett Hite Ariz. 296 070 Ron Shuffield Ark. 295 071 David Wharton Texas 294 072 Jason Quinn S.C. 288 073 Mike Auten Ky. 281 074 Jimmy D. Mize Ark. 279 074 Bernie Schultz Fla. 279 074 Mark Rizk Ala. 279 077 Chris Price Md. 275 078 Jay Kendrick Tenn. 271 079 Allen Armour Ga. 268 079 Robert Hamilton Jr. Miss. 268 081 Gerry Williams Fla. 266 082 Chad Brauer Mo. 265 083 Shonn Blassingame Texas 264 084 Jody Cordell Ga. 263 085 Danny Kirk Ga. 254 086 Mark Sabbides La. 253 087 Eric Nethery Ga. 251 088 Morizo Shimizu Japan 250 088 Michael Johnson Ga. 250 090 Pete Gluszek N.J. 248 091 Guy H. Eaker N.C. 247 092 Jim Murray, Jr. Ga. 246 092 Kenyon Hill Okla. 246 094 Takahiro Omori Texas 244 095 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 243 096 Terry Segraves Fla. 242 096 Jimmy Reese Calif. 242 096 Keith Green Ark. 242 099 Charlie Hartley Ohio 241 100 Ken Cook Okla. 237